The Marks of a Good Chef

Next to my dad, he's the smartest person I know. Next to me, he's the funniest.

Well, so he's probably funnier than me, but we're funny in different ways. It's an apples and oranges kind of thing.

At least let me think that, okay?

He is my brother and he also happens to be an amazing chef.

And he has the scars to prove it. Burn marks from grease on his hands, no fingerprints from testing sauces while they still simmer, and palms that can hold fire. They aren't the credentials of a great chef. Nope, that proof is in the pudding, or the risotto.

But the scars do matter. To the rest of the world, they show my brother has been through the fire. They show his wisdom comes from places other than a book- it comes from his living.

They aren't his credentials but they are his credibility.

Lately, I have been drawn to the writings of C.S. Lewis. He knew what we all should carry in our hearts. This journey, this walk with God is a battle. This world is a battle. We are engaged in a great war. Victory is assured, yes, Easter Sunday provided that promise. But that does not mean the battles will not be bad, be bloody, be strong.

Friends, this journey is not for the faint of heart.

Scars abound. Some on the outside, many more on the soul. And yes, they will all be redeemed.

They are not our credentials, those are found on the cross.

And unlike our vocations, those scars aren't really our credibility.

Not really.

But they are the marks of one who has held fire.

They are the marks of something else. They are the marks of having been a part of the battles. Day in and day out. Actively fighting in this war.



The safest road to hell is the gradual one - the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts. - C.S. Lewis