The Plumbline

I have seen lovely homes with a nicely landscaped front yard, beautifully framing the home with color and style. Then, to my dismay, observed the backyard to be a mess of dirt, weeds, and nothing too impressive at all. Why is it we "put our best foot forward" with what people see first, but neglect to ever do anything with the thing we see the most in our lives? The front yard is for the public - the backyard is for our use, is it not? The "backyard" will be seen most often in our lives, by us and those closest to us, yet it can be the most neglected part of our lives! The perceptive find wisdom in their own front yard; fools look for it everywhere but right here. (Proverbs 17:24) I know our passage only speaks to the "front yard" of the perceptive (the wise), but I think there is much to be said about what is the "backyard" of a person's life! What we allow, or choose to ignore, in our "backyard" is often more important than w...

Most of us have heard that old adage, "The only thing constant in life is change", but it is almost an oxymoron. Why? If you didn't know, change is by definition the opposite of something which remains constant! Think about it again, and you might just realize there is truth in this saying because when you consider it, change is constant. If we are to remain fresh, vital and in a position of being on the "cutting edge" of all life sends our way, we need to be up for change - sometimes more frequently than we'd like, but change will come. Sometimes the greatest challenge to us comes in the willingness to admit we even need change. There is just something "comfortable" about a lack of change. When change begins to be called for, we get really, really nervous! Why? Simply because we don't see the need for change in quite the same way as the one calling for the change in the first place. When God calls for us to change, we might even find ou...