Weeds and Thorns

Are you a gardener? I am not, I will readily admit. One season, in a fit of enthusiasm, I purchased some tomato seeds and planted them in small containers. They were put in sunny spot and watered regularly. I told everyone to be ready for my Big Boy tomatoes. As they grew, I eagerly staked them and watched over them like a mother hen. One day, I checked on my baby tomatoes and discovered some other plants were taking over my tomatoes crop. I spent the rest of the summer until harvest time, on my knees grumbling as I pulling weeds. I would pull a mess of weeds and two days later more showed up. My persistence payed off that fall with some juicy bright red tomatoes. And Yes, I will plant them again. Even with the hard work those tomatoes cost me, they were worth it! Your own tomatoes taste juicier than those grown for the grocery store and they are better for you. Truth be told, it is a lot more fun bragging about your own tomatoes than those bought at Kroger! 

Isn’t that a bit like growing the seeds God plants in our lives? We receive the Word with enthusiasm and eagerly anticipated the harvest. But somewhere along the way, the weeds and thorns begin to grow in our lives and become a threat to the growth of the Word. You just can't stand by and expect your faith to grow. It becomes obvious, looking at your faith is not the same as growing your faith. In fact, if you don't go something there is a real risk your faith may not grow at all!

The weeds of life bring a harsh reality to growing your faith. Those weeds spring up in to the most unexpected places. Your attend a gathering when across the room you spot the one person you dislike the most. The one who hurt you greatly. The one who caused the most pain you have ever experienced. There they are laughing and joking as if they are throwing the hurt right back at you. They are so smug. You feel the pain and hurt as if it happened only yesterday. Your face turns red, your nostrils flare, your fist clinch. Just as you are about to charge forward with every intention of showing them  what you think about them, you are stopped by a still small voice, a quite intruder muttering the words you least want to hear, "Love your neighbor as yourself", "Love your enemies", "Love, love, love persist in your mind".

Love Lifted Me

I've listened to sermons in big churches and in small churches for a good number of years. I've heard some of the best preachers Christianity has to offer. I've even preached a few sermons myself. But you know something - I do not remember any of them! I could not quote any of those sermons even those I preached. This lack of memory is a not a result of my advancing age, as my wife suggests, or my diminished mental capacity or my inattention during the sermons. I suspect I have a lot company.

However, there are some things I remember quite well. There are good Christian beliefs which come easily to mind, often seemingly "out of the blue". The brain is minding it's own business when out of the blue, something pertaining to God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit interrupts.

The other day I was walking my dog Lilly when this popped into my frontal lobe.
   
     Love lifted me, when nothing else could help, Love lifted me.
     I was sinking deep in sin, far from the distant shore,
     Very deeply stained within, sinking to rise no more,
     But the Master of the sea lifted me, heard my despairing cry
     From the waters lifted me. Now safe am I
     Love lifted me, Love lifted me.

 That isn't from a sermon I heard. It isn't from scripture I read and studied. It's from a hymn, a hymn written in the early, early 1900's, It was copyrighted in 1912, but was written and sung years before. The scriptural basis for the hymn is Matthew 14:22-32. I am positive there have been numerous sermons on this passage, but I only remember "Love lifted me". What better reminder of God's love for those of us who are deep in our sin? If you could only remember one thing about God's love, why not this old hymn?

Build your house on a rock

Okay, I know Paul wrote in Ephesians and in Romans we are saved by faith and not by works. Here is the passage just in case you missed it.

"For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God's gift - not from works, so that no one can boast." (Eph 2:8-9 HCSB)

What a relief! All we have to do is have faith; faith that Jesus death on the cross is the payment for our sins. Jesus made us righteous before God. Seems so simple and really easy, right? But in the back recesses of our mind, it doesn't seem fair, does it? Jesus suffered and was crucified and all we have to do is believe He died for us. Just believe! Oh well that's what the man said. Now we can go on with our lives, occasionally thanking God for His love and His grace.

And then someone hits us with this bombshell,

"Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will likem him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock..." (Matthew 7:24 27 KJV) (Italics are mine)

How do you like the Old English words from King James? Laugh as we will at the old English, we can not laugh away the meaning of this parable from Jesus. Simply, everyone who hears what Jesus has been saying and does them will be counted wise. I knew it! There is more to this than just believing and getting along with our lives. We do have to do something. Frankly, that is just fine with me; I want to do something, I expect to do something. I am eager to find out what these things are so I can get on with doing them.

Okay, let's look at a few "do's" in no particular order.

"Don't worry about our life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. ...For idolaters eager seek these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteous, and all these things will be provided for you. Therefore don't worry about tomorrow,...." (Matthew 6:25-34 NIV)

Can you really not worry? How are you going to pay the bills, put food on the table, keep a roof over your head? You can't just forget those things, can you? But Jesus tells you to not worry about those things, God will take care of you. Jesus tells you to seek the Kingdom of God first and foremost. Can you in all honesty do that?

Another "do".