Better Than a John Deere

Trials teach us what we are; they dig up the soil, and let us see what we are made of. (Charles Spurgeon)

If you have wondered about the value of the present 'trial' you are enduring, you might just wrap your words around Spurgeon's thoughts today. They 'dig up the soil' of our lives - revealing to us exactly what we are made of. Sometimes we discover the soil is pretty much 'infertile' - rocky, hardened, and just plain 'uninhabitable'. At others we may find that soil to be easily turned, full of all that will give and bring life, and able to bear much fruit. Do you know something? It is the same soil! It is just that the latter has been 'worked' a little bit more by the hands of the one who knows exactly how to bring forth life and fruit from our lives.

Dear ones, don’t be surprised when you experience your trial by fire. It is not something strange and unusual, but it is something you should rejoice in. (I Peter 3:12-13)

I am looking at the condition of some of my raised beds right now and noticing just how much the soil within them needs a good 'turning'. It needs to be aerated again, turned over so the roots of the plants can penetrate the soil more easily, and the leaves that have landed on top of that soil can be turned into the soil so they can begin to decay and provide nourishment for the plants. It isn't that I don't know 'what' to do to make them grow better - it is that I don't always take the time to do it! The same holds true in my own life. It isn't that I don't know what God is after in my life - it is that I don't give him my time or attention long enough for him to actually do it!

There is no excuse for some of our 'infertile soil' in life - it is simply that we have allowed it to become neglected. No wonder God will use some form of trial to begin the turning process - to begin to stimulate growth in those areas where it has become stagnant, or even non-existent. I don't imagine the soil in the farmer's acres look fondly upon the passage of the disc harrow attached to the tractor he maneuvers throughout those acres. That 'harrow' has but one purpose - to chop up the weeds and left-over crop remnants, while breaking up the soil. Yet, I know the acres are likely to be more displeased with the use of the plow! Why? It digs deeper, cutting into the soil, and exposing what is hidden.

God uses some trials as plows, while others are just like the harrow. Some will cut deep, expose much, and get at the 'root' of what holds back growth in our lives. Others will simply rejuvenate the soil of our lives so that we are ready for the fresh work of growth God wants to bring forth. I don't know why we resist trials so much, but I know we wouldn't if we fully understood the purpose behind each one. I have learned one thing - God uses the right implements at the right time to produce the right results the soil of my life most desperately needs. How about you? Have you learned to fully appreciate the 'implements' God uses to rejuvenate your life? If not, today could be the place where you begin to allow God to dig up, turn under, and refresh your life again. Just sayin!

Truth confirmed

There have been moments when I find what someone is telling me hard to believe. In those moments, it is not uncommon for the individual to tell me to "see for myself" when I am having trouble accepting what they are saying. Usually, in the 'looking', I find they aren't far from the truth, and even that they may be totally 'spot on' with what they are telling me! The looking was a moment of confirmation, not really of discovery, for what I discovered had already been revealed to me. I just needed a little confirmation to totally accept the truth.

"Come along and see for yourself." (John 1:39)

The inner circle of Jesus' closest disciples - the twelve who would become the those to follow in his footsteps, learn of his teachings, and be support in his times of trial. In looking at the call to become a disciple, they heard the words, "Come along and see for yourself." Jesus was not in the business of convincing men to follow him - leaving all they had to follow along in his ministry. Instead, he asked for them to decide for themselves what it was that he proclaimed as truth by what they had already seen and heard of his works and character.

Consider first that discipleship requires us turning our attention from what it is we are doing at the moment towards Jesus. These fishermen, tax collectors, and tradesmen had to specifically turn from what they were doing to follow Jesus. This was no easy matter for them - their entire livelihood was affected by this one matter of redirecting their attention. The same is true for us today. We turn from what we have been involved in toward a newness of life, mission, and purpose. We are confirming there is something worth following when we turn toward him and focus our attention on him. It is more than smoke and mirrors - there is a confirmation in our spirit of the reality of his love, power, and plan.

Discipleship requires following - a willingness to actually investigate and confirm what it is we believe. Sometimes, we think of those that are "followers" in a negative manner - seeing them as weak, unable to make their own decisions, and not able to really step up to lead. In Jesus' eyes, the one who followed him could take no greater "stand" in life. These men were laying down their "right" to be self-directed men. They were actually exchanging the role of being "independent" to that of being dependent. Following suggests the exchange of being "self-governed" to the submissive place of being "Christ-governed".

Discipleship requires finding and aligning yourself with others that will "turn and follow". There is a sharing in the message, in the work of the gospel that brings meaning to this new life. It is in walking with others that we see the proof of what it is to experience Christ. Obedience is required of those who will seek to confirm this message for themselves. Jesus asked the disciples to lay down their nets and leave their means of livelihood - that which they were the most familiar with - and take up a new pursuit. They were expected to step out of the ordinary into the extraordinary. Their place of familiarity with what it was they were doing was being transitioned - they were moving into a place where everything was new, fresh, and vital. This would be a place of learning for them. 

Don't ever forget that discipleship requires coming to "see for yourself". They could have stayed on the shore, mending their nets, or in the tax house, recounting their money. But...they didn't. They were not willing to have a second-hand experience. They wanted to see it all for themselves. Some might label this a sense of curiosity. Others might see it as a sense of daring. Whatever it was, they saw something that intrigued them and excited them to take action. Discipleship requires an openness to the newness of revelation that God will give. Nothing matters more in our process of learning than our willingness to learn. When we are "open" to learning, there is much to be taught. The call was one of "coming to see for themselves" - stepping outside of their comfort zones and into a place where not everything was "sure", or "planned in advance". In the movement away from their "comfort zones" they would experience revelation greater than they'd ever imagined. It is as we answer the call to "come and see for yourself" that we are expanded in our revelation! The truth has always been there - we just needed to confirm it for ourselves! Just sayin!

About-Face!

13 “You can enter true life only through the narrow gate. The gate to hell is very wide, and there is plenty of room on the road that leads there. Many people go that way. 14 But the gate that opens the way to true life is narrow. And the road that leads there is hard to follow. Only a few people find it. (Matthew 7:13-14 ERV)

It was the late C.S. Lewis who reminded us, "The safest road to hell is the gradual one - the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts." The road doesn't need signposts because it is the easiest to follow! If you have ever had a roof leak, you know just how doggone difficult it can be to actually determine where that water is getting in. Why? The water takes the course of the least resistance and travels along until it finds a path of escape, often quite far removed from the initial point of entry. The road to hell is much like that - we realize our need for escape at a point, but it is often quite far removed from our point of entry!

We don't always realize we are on a course headed toward that "easy path", though. It oftentimes takes a little bit of eye-opening to help us realize where it is we have been heading. As Lewis implies, there are no signposts, no great big milestones along the way - it is just a simple "lazy road" to what appears to be some innocuous destination. I think we choose it most easily because there don't appear to be any huge hurdles in our way! The road to heaven is a little less innocuous though. It is riddled with potholes, hard climbs, and oftentimes narrower than desired paths. Those paths might even take us right out onto the edge of some very scary places, but when we look beyond the edge, we can see great beauty!

Lewis also reminds us, "We all want progress, but if you're on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; in that case, the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive." What is the progress you are making in your life today? It might not seem like much, but each step you and I continue to take toward our own self-interests and self-directed desires might just take us on a course we don't want to travel. The one who is so focused on what he or she can manipulate out of this life is not going to realize progress, but rather a downward spiral. There is nothing wrong in admitting we are in a place where an about-turn is necessary. In fact, in the military we practiced this movement over and over again - because an about-turn is what brings us face-to-face with a new direction and a different focus in life. Just sayin!