Oxtail! By Minister Owen Mitchell

Inspiration

Oxtail!

While being ministered to by a friend, the analogy of the cooking process of oxtail was given. Being a kitchen person, all antennas went up. The thought of approaching and dealing with a situation much like cooking oxtail, was beyond me.

The fact is, the care we take in preparing this expensive meat will determine the taste, appearance and texture; much like Christianity and the way we deal with issues. The Bible puts it this way in Proverbs 15:1, “a soft answer turneth away wrath, but grievous words stir up anger.” A non-confrontational response will deflate an argument or the potential of one.

Oxtail takes between 3-4 hours to cook to perfection but I realize we don’t have that time. For us to be perfected time has to be foremost. In John 8, a woman caught in adultery was brought to Jesus to be condemned by Him. His timely response was, “he that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” Jesus was very poised in His response, it wasn’t out of anger or condemnation, it was on the basis of love. Jesus’ answer came with precision.

Matthew 10:16, “…. Be ye wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.” We must mirror the character of a dove, non-threatening, harmless and gentle. This verse also speaks of articulating the wisdom of a serpent. To achieve this takes time.

Today, let us turn down the flame on the situations we face in our lives and allow it to slowly cook to perfection.

God Bless.