My take on Truth, Grace, Restoration, Love

Do you live to giving away a carrot or a horse? Charles Spurgeon gets to the heart of the matter when he asks how do I live using a beautiful illustration about a carrot, a horse and a king:

Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892) understood the difference between Religion and the Gospel when he told the Tale of the King, the Carrot, and the Horse:
Once upon a time there was a gardener who grew an enormous carrot. He took it to his king and said, “My lord, this is the greatest carrot I’ve ever grown or ever will grow; therefore, I want to present it to you as a token of my love and respect for you.” The king was touched and discerned the man’s heart, so as he turned to go, the king said, “Wait! You are clearly a good steward of the earth. I own a plot of land right next to yours. I want to give it to you freely as a gift, so you can garden it all.” The gardener was amazed and delighted and went home rejoicing.
But there was a nobleman at the king’s court who overheard all this, and he said, “My! If that is what you get for a carrot, what if you gave the king something better?” The next day the nobleman came before the king, and he was leading a handsome black stallion. He bowed low and said, “My lord, I breed horses, and this is the greatest horse I’ve ever bred or ever will; therefore, I want to present it to you as a token of my love and respect for you.” But the king discerned his heart and said, “Thank you,” and took the horse and simply dismissed him. The nobleman was perplexed, so the king said, “Let me explain. That gardener was giving me the carrot, but you were giving yourself the horse.

What does the story mean? I first came across this story it reminded me of a Bug’s Bunny episode when the King asked for rabbit and the cook couldn’t deliver and by the end of the episode Bugs was bringing a carrot to the King. However, it’s Spurgeon’s illustration concerning us right now. The illustration tells us not to be in ministry, any calling, lifestyle, business if we think it is our way of paying back God to be saved or to receive blessing. You are to do what you do because you are saved, because you are loved, because you are forgiven. You don’t do it to save someone or save yourself. Imagine what the King will provide to you if you have a Carrot perspective.

When you live this you won’t worry about how you preached, how you lived your day, whether you lived up to the image others want you to live up to. You live in the image of Christ and allow the gospel to calibrate the way you live, serve, love, give, work and play.