Cooking with cast iron is something that has really intrigued me over the years. It may stem all the way back to my teen years as a Boy Scout. There is something special about cooking in the wilderness and eating better than you ordinarily would at home! I have no idea how to cook a square meal on a stove or oven at home. Give me a dutch oven with coals and we can make great things happen! I am a scoutmaster for a local troop and we just returned from winter camp. The best dutch oven dish that arose from the campfire was Mountain Dew chicken. You may “Google” the recipe for details, but it contains boneless chicken breasts, carrots, potatoes, cheese, bacon, butter and Mountain Dew as the baste. With those ingredients how can you go wrong? The smell could be picked up 100 yards from camp!
It fascinates me even more to know the history behind the pan. The dutch oven, in which I do most of my cooking, has been confirmed to be used by four generations of my family. It is quite possible that this cooking utensil came to the state later known as Mississippi (1817) from South Carolina with my 5th great grandparents in the mid 1790’s! It is also possible the seasoning in that particular dutch oven has been contributed by several generations of my family. The seasoning is darker than black and smoother than a non-stick pan. That doesn’t happen with a couple of cookings. In a sense, I am sharing a meal with generations of my family who contributed to the seasoning of that pan!
Ok, so now you know the madness behind what could easily turn into an 
obsession for me. Cast iron pans are staple items at many yard sales and flea markets. I am immediately drawn to them and start looking for casting marks. I may even inquire about the history of the pan. It pains me to see a pan that is dormant and coated with rust. I almost imagine that pan as a child who has been separated from its parents. I feel obligated to “redeem” it and turn it back to its original glory so that its “maker” would be proud. I am thankful my wife helps me keep a check on this potential problem. However, she came home from a flea market last weekend with a round, flat pancake griddle that is dated by its casting marks to be well over 120 years old! She made me proud of that score!
You know, this should be the same passion that we have for sharing Jesus with a lost world. Is it possible that satan could blind us so badly that we could transfer the passion we have for the “lost” to material things like cast iron pans? If we are not careful we can enter the never ending race of pursuing happiness and fulfillment here on earth. It is evident that we cannot take our cast iron pans with us when we die. If so, I am sure the previous generations would not have left such fine cooking utensils behind. I’ll bet if they could come back and share a meal around the dutch oven the story would be familiar. It would connect to the parable Jesus told in Luke 16:19-31. There was a rich man that had all of the finer things in life. There was also a poor begger named Lazarus. The only attention he received was from dogs who licked his sores. Lazarus died and went to the side of Abraham in heaven. The rich man died and went to Hades. All of a sudden, after great torment, the rich man started to have passion for the loved ones he left back on earth. He did not want them to experience what he was going through. He requested that Lazarus go back and tell them the truth. The rich man knew that unless some miracle happened, like someone coming back from the dead, his family would never believe in Jesus. Isn’t it terrible that the rich man’s influence not only condemned him to hell, but apparently led his whole family down the same path! It can be inferred from this parable that material possessions and riches distracted him from the treasures he should be storing up in heaven (Matt. 6 19-20).
Please know that I am not condemning material possessions and the pursuit thereof. God may bless you with “things” to bless others and to use for His Glory. Those “things” are tools to be used in your hands to lead other people to Jesus. We “miss the boat” when those things become our primary focus and we look away from God. Every cast iron pan I have belongs to God! As hard as it would be to let my heirloom dutch oven go, it must leave if it means that someone will be restored to a right relationship with their “maker.”
Dear God, please help us keep our eyes on Jesus the “author and perfecter of our faith.” (Heb. 12:2 ESV) Help us passionately look inside ourselves and for those who may be stained with “rusty” sins – may we relay the hope of Jesus. He is the only way to restore our “seasoning” to obtain the right relationship with you. Thank you for providing Him as our only way to heaven!
Another good one Rob! We love our cast iron cookware. My wife has saved a few of her parents and boy was it worth it. May peace and mercy be with you and your sweet family.