Time for dessert

Somewhere relegated to the far end of the buffet line are the desserts. Sweet morsels are nestled by the salad and condiments, demonstrating the importance of dessert to the buffet mentality. Buffets are all about volume. After we have stuffed ourselves on meats and breads we meander down to desserts, hoping to find some ice cream to top off our gluttony.

But to the discerning diner dessert is the “coup de grace” (merciful death blow). Dessert finishes us off. One dessert is actually called “Death by Chocolate.” Done in by chocolate. What a way to go.

I love the process of selecting a dessert in a nice restaurant, an activity I never was allowed to enjoy as a lad. I actually used to think, “Would you like something for dessert” was a rhetorical question. I remember clearly the first time I encountered the dessert cart. A cornucopia of delectable delights were paraded in front of my eyes. The cart was layered with cakes and pies, custards and things I had only dreamed of. I was sure I had discovered a slice of heaven.

The dessert of theology is eschatology, the study of last things. For our purposes, I will focus on last things as those important issues and activities that have been instituted since Easter’s resurrection morning or will come to fruition in a time to come.

Let’s go back to the dessert cart for just a moment. Notice that none of the desserts arrive at your table without the cart. In theology, the church is the dessert cart. God chose the church to be the vehicle through which He would interact with this world once Jesus ascended. This vehicle is known in two forms, the universal church and the local church. In the broadest of terms, the church is constituted of those purchased by the blood of Jesus (Acts 20:28), sanctified by Him (1 Cor. 1:2), of whom He is the head (Eph. 5:23), and that which He continues to build (Matt. 16:18). The church is the “called out ones (ecclesia)” and “those belonging to God (kuriakon).” We, the church, are God’s vehicle to transport the deliciousness of His kingdom to a hurting humanity. I love being a part of dessert.