uphill, downhill

(it's like how your parents walked to and from school...uphill both ways)

Uphill, Downhill

The Sunday afternoon weather was fabulous, especially for February.  So I took the opportunity to take my run outdoors, away from the gym, the treadmill and the four walls.  Treadmills take you on a flat run by default; no hills are included unless you request them.  Not so on a trail.  Logic tells me that while traveling a circuitous route, that stops where it starts, every uphill change in elevation must be balanced out by a downhill change.  Funny how it rarely feels that way.  The uphill sections seem daunting, challenging and never ending.  The downhill section fade into your memory as soon as they are complete.

“So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “… Then come, let us go up to Bethel, where I will build an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone.” Genesis 35:2-3

Most people can easily name the worst thing that every happened to them…maybe even a top ten. We can even list all the challenges we see on the horizon for the near term.  Less certain is the ability to recount the times when things were easier, where the path was straighter and wider.  Or to quantify how much simpler the future is with God at our side.    That’s why Jacob’s altar is important…it’s built to remember God’s provision in both distress and good times.

I hope we can all find that balance too.

  

Thanks for all you do.

Brian

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Volume 7, Number 35

Leaving Something

(we don't really glean much anymore... but the lesson is still valid)

Leaving Something

This past weekend our church hosted a “Gospel at Work” event.  There were more than 800 men and women from over 100 churches in attendance.  We were blessed to hear from a wonderful group of pastors and business leaders from Raleigh and around the country that challenged us to live a Gospel centered life at work.  It really brought this passage from the Old Testament into a different focus:

“When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the Lord your God.” Leviticus 19:9-10

What’s the point of this in a modern world? Most of us don’t own a field or a vineyard these days.  But you may own a business or be in a position of influence in your organization. By refusing to squeeze every last nickel out of a business as your salary you can have the funds to take better care of your team. By lowering prices to all you can reach a broader audience with your ministry. By keeping the corporate autos for a few more years you can give generously to groups that are helping the least fortunate in your community.  The list goes on and on.

Try to find a way to leave something for a higher and better use!

Thanks for all you do.

Brian

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Volume 7, Number 34