Getting out of the rocks

(plants can be harmed by heat or cold equally!)

Getting out of the rocks

This summer we came across a small potted plant much like one we had many years ago. We liked the first plant so much; we bought this new one and gave it a home on our screened porch. Well, the plant loved the hot humid summer and experienced phenomenal growth. As the calendar turned to fall there was discussion about bringing this big happy plant into the house. But alas, the move didn’t happen soon enough and the plant was hit with frost. There are still signs of life, but the great potential of the plant is gone forever.

 “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed.  Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil… It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.” Mark 4:3,5-6

We could have helped the plant grow stronger and live longer.  The plant is incapable of self-locomotion…and is dependent on the intervention of those who can see the big picture.  How much more should we be interested in the spiritual growth of people we know who’ve had an exciting, emotional experience with God? We can pick them up from the shallow soil and set them in a place where they can become deeply rooted.  We can invite them out of the cold of isolation into the warmth of fellowship. 

Don’t let your friends whither…help them build their roots!

Thanks for all you do.

Brian

<>< 

Volume 7, Number 27

Picked off

(Baseball is a funny game...)

Picked off

The strange ending of the third game of the 2013 World Series served as an apt prelude to the equally odd fourth game.  St. Louis was down to its last out when Allen Craig reached base with a sharp single. Because Craig had an injured foot, he was replaced by a pinch runner; a runner who was fast and smart on the base paths. But Kolten Wong was perhaps too excited about his opportunity to make a big play and perhaps too confident in his abilities.  In any case he forgot the most basic concept of base running…don’t get picked off.  Boom… just like that… game over.

“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” 1 Peter 5:8

When times are good or our skills are in great demand, our focus tends to narrow.  We see the task before us and begin to plan with certainty how we will succeed. With that narrowing focus comes the chance that big pictures elements are closing in, out of sight, ready to knock us off course. No place is this more true than in matters of a spiritual nature.  As soon as we think we’re bullet proof on a spiritual issue we are ripe for a test.  As Oswald Chambers put it, “An unguarded strength is a double weakness”.

Don’t get caught leaning the wrong direction.

Thanks for all you do.

Brian

<>< 

Volume 7, Number 26