Looking Into the Distance

Seems like in the spin of everyday living I can develop a short-sightedness in my view of what is going on in my life.  I can so easily lose focus on that point in the distance where I am steering for.  To regain perspective, there is nothing like sitting on the deck of a beach house, with a nice cup of coffee, gazing off towards what seems like an infinitely distant horizon, where sky and ocean merge, and wondering about faith and life.  It is good to recover the long-run perspective of life and helps me rediscover what is most important to me in life and faith-walk.  It's not that I need to write the next 5-year plan for me life (no thank you) but I do need to correctly perceive the direction the Lord is leading me in to be able to recognize the paths and the doors he is opening for me.  I need to know the daily lines up with the long-run journey God's is walking me through.

Peace and perspective to you all...

 

 

Good Dirt?

I have just a short bit of wandering tonight to share.  In Matthew 13, you will find the familiar parable of the sower.  Jesus tells the story and then explains the meaning of the story where the farmer sows seed along a path, on a rocky place, in a field choked with weeds, and in a place of good soil.  The meaning of the story is focused on the type of soil a person is when they receive the seed of the message of the Kingdom.  

As I get ready to start a course at Rockbridge Seminary, about Discipleship, it comes to mind that the Church (the Fellowship of Believers) needs to be mindful of what type of soil we are.  The Lord plants people in our soil (our church) who have a precious seed of the Kingdom planted in them.  Are we, as the Body of Christ, a place that is rich with nutrients, a nurturing environment for new believers and seekers of God, or are we a place the stunts the growth of the seed of God's Kingdom and chases away the lost?  We honestly should look for evidence in our church that we are the deep, rich soil that we should be.

At a personal level, we should also look at our own interactions with all believers.  Are we good dirt or not?  Years ago, on a whim drive across southern Minnesota, I encountered a place called Blue Earth.  The soil was supposed to be so dark and rich that it looked blue.  Working in the garden, I can imagine what that richest of soils would look, feel and smell like.  Discipleship is an important part of our purpose in life.  We accountable to the Lord to be responsible stewards of the gifts the Lord has pressed into and grown in our lives.  The gifts are for the encouragement and building up of the Body of Christ.  Are you being the good kind of dirt?  

Blessings,

Mark