I’ve never spent a lot of time in the kitchen, but a number of years ago I met a man who was trained as a classic French chef. We had many great talks about life in general, but the one conversation I especially remember was the one in which he explained the concept of a mother sauce.
He explained that as a chef he was taught to use five basic mother sauces, which is a base sauce from which many other sauces can be made. For instance, in one type of sauce you may have to boil several bones with the marrow for a day and after many steps you finally arrive at a base sauce. Once the mother sauce is made, you can use it to make a variety of other secondary sauces merely by adding other ingredients and spices, but it all starts with the mother sauce.
In many ways love is the mother sauce of Christianity. We love because God FIRST loved us (John 3:16). And we are to love God first with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and then we are to love others in the same way we love ourselves. There are also many verses that speak about how we are to act with “one another,” each of which is a specific expression of love. Consider how love is expressed in the following “One Another” verses:
- Love one another as I have loved you (John 13:34-35)
- Devoted to one another (Romans 12:10)
- Honor one another (Romans 12:10)
- Live in harmony with one another (Romans 12:16)
- Accept one another (Romans 15:7)
- Agree with one another (1 Corinthians 1:10)
- Have equal concern for each other (1 Corinthians 12:25)
- Serve one another (Galatians 5:13)
- Bear with one another (Ephesians 4:2)
- Be kind to one another (Ephesians 4:32)
- Be compassionate with one another (Ephesians 4:32)
- Forgive each other (Ephesians 4:32)
- Submit to one another (Ephesians 5:21)
- Agree with each other (Philippians 4:2)
- Live in peace with each other (1 Thessalonians 5:13)
- Don’t slander one another (James 4:11)
- Don’t grumble against each other (James 5:9)
- Live in harmony with one another (1 Peter 3:8)
If you want to savor your walk with Jesus, start with the mother sauce of love!