Perspectives

The fruit of the spirit works in the same manner, as the arduous task of gardening, it requires nurturing and a labor of love to cultivate or bring forth what was planted. The farmer does not care who gets credit, but rather ensures every seedling makes it to harvest, and if a neighboring farm is in trouble, there is no contemplation, he will spare nothing to ensure their success as well. 1 Corinthians 3:7-8 explains it this way; 7 So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. 8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor. We must ensure that the spiritual seeds we plant are of the highest grade to guarantee a harvest in season. The quality of a seed is often based on the previous year’s harvest (for us that means what we have handed down from generation to generation), drought, floods, cold and heat, depending on their severity, may have an adverse effect on the that year’s harvest. Again, like us, if we water the seeds we have planted among the body of believers with an abundance of anger, unmeasured resentment, blistering cold bitterness, and the heat of hatefulness we cannot rightfully expect even a moderate return on investment, for our seed will not bear the desired fruit in season. Sometimes the impact is so adverse that the farm vanishes under the weight of foreclosure, and the once fertile ground, despite our best effort, ceases to bring forth any fruit at all. If I thereby sow the seeds of discord, envy, strife and confusion I will indeed reap the harvest of what I’ve planted. Likewise if the seeds that have been planted in me are of the same measure and quality, what hope do I have.

As for the modern church it is ever more important to know with the utmost assurance who Jesus is. Humanity is crying out as people are left homeless and destitute, absent of human contact and the selflessness of love,  they are deeply longing for a savior,  but more importantly one they can literally and figuratively see in us. When Jesus bid the disciples to follow him, they did not do so because of the fluidity of his words or the loveliness of his appearance as suggested in Isaiah 53:2.

Relationships are invaluable in life and to our livelihood. Knowing someone, not knowing of them, requires authenticity, allowing others to see us as we are, faults and all. Not one filled with unnecessary titles or insignificant boasts of brilliant feats and accomplishments, but rather one comprised of recurrent interaction, honesty, and unmerited trust. That is what each of our relationships should look like in the presence of God. When we cannot talk to anyone else, we can lay our troubles at his feet, what no one else knows we can trust with him, and our regrets and shamefulness we can share. Should our relationships be that way with each other, yes and no. Therein lies the urgency of knowing him, he that is able to save us to the utmost.

During the last few weeks, we have breached several topics that in some way or another affects each of us which include: our personal struggles; our treatment of others; our acceptance by other; our reluctance; and God's love for us. As we transition into the new year, my desire is to air the series, walk with me, in three-parts. Today is part one of that series. I believe it is important for us, especially today, to comprehend what it means to walk in the presence of God. The abundance of information and its access is enough to confuse all of us; more than 45 Bible translations, versions in varied languages, commentary from biblical scholars, internet searches, Wikipedia, YouTube sermons, and now Twitter, Facebook, Zoom, WhatsApp, etc.; Wow! Our salvation, our walk with God was never intended to be so complicated. Yes! I agree we need God, but in the most simplistic way.

In life we are influenced, albeit positively or negatively, to do and accomplish countless things: learn a new language; play a musical instrument; go back to school; lose a few pounds; get back in shape; save more money; run a marathon an unending and sometimes unyielding list of sorts that goes on and on. s we approach the precipice of another year, we begin once more to make those list with great zeal and enthusiasm only to realize a few moments later into the new year, we have suddenly ceased to achieve that goal for many of us in-record breaking fashion. Now, I am only referring to generalities, because I know there are some overachievers listening today who have never faced that problem. Unfortunately, I am not one. I have failed year after year to conquer the Mount Everest’s of life, moreover, in some areas I fail to get past the tranquility of the babbling brook or the comfort of the rolling meadow.

This Christmas like many others before, we devoted countless hours, … searching for the right gift,  a perfect gift of sorts,  as a way of expressing our love and gratitude towards one another. Of course, gifts are never equitable, in our minds, because it always seems as if one gave more than the other.  Suppose however, the one that gave apparently less, from a monetary perspective  does it mean they did not care or give it the appropriate level of thought and consideration, as we say with apprehension, repeatedly, with the slightest smile, it’s the thought that counts, maybe, just maybe their circumstances did not allow them to buy the desired gift,  but rather than giving out of their abundance, they gave from their lack. Gifts we do not like we return, and those without a receipt, we (as the term is) re-gift them to someone else, because we have the luxury to do so. Is it possible we are looking at it all wrong, would we likewise return the gift from God? Perhaps our purpose for celebrating is a bit misplaced. Despite our indecision about what to get, the perfect gift at Christmas, is Christ.

Philippians 4:19

And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

I am not speaking of Greed. I am speaking of something that effects each one of us, something we cannot explain in the absence of God, that void in life that no matter how we try or what we try to fill it with, we still walk away, empty, and unsatisfied. Longing for something, but not exactly sure what it is. How is this so? I was thinking about my Grandmother, Annie M. Anderson, recently, who passed some years ago, she was a domestic worker all her life, she rode the city bus to and from, every day and was never late, she never owned a car, her living accommodations early on were sparse at best. I can recall growing up sitting at the kitchen table helping her lick S&H stamps for her booklets she received from the grocery store. No matter her lack, she never failed to have an abundance of room for others, no matter who they were and yet she never yearned for an abundance of more. In fact, in all my years, I cannot recall hearing her ever complain. I am in awe and envious of that sort of contentment.

Miracles prevail throughout scripture, in both the Old and New Testament, they serve as a reminder of possibilities, hope where none existed before.  While we can only plead and pray, the miracles I am referring to don’t occur by the hands of mystics, magicians, genies, and the sort. Only God is able to bring such things to pass, things we consider humanly impossible. As we watch happenings unfold around the world, and even amid our own families, we need a miracle, that is where our faith, our hope, and our trust resides. Our words, not being enough, no longer provide proof or affirmation, because we need something today that is not possible by the hands of man or his own abilities, as our characteristic nature dooms us to fail and we look for others to do the same, no matter how perfect they appear. Scripture tells us that as a man thinketh so is he. (Proverbs 23:7).

Troubles in life come when we believe the grass is always greener on the other side. We are taken aback, believing that others have it better than us. We are always wanton never satisfied, given to greed, wanting more and more in abundance, feeling that what we have (what God gave us) is insufficient or less than adequate

I am a neat freak of sorts, and in some ways a recovering perfectionist. Everything has a place, and when it is not, it causes a slew of unnecessary chaos. Each day before leaving work everything is perfectly aligned on my desk, upon entering my office I can tell immediately if something is out of place. The term Cleaning House can have many inferences; from actual cleaning to removing or changing employees in a mass exodus in business, both are practical to today's episode. We naturally accumulate things, however, when we are young, we do not have enough things to cause near as much clutter as when we are older, for some it is an abundance and for others a surplus. In life we occasionally have difficulty getting rid of things, more so than others, even when they have lost their usefulness. We routinely consider those just in case items.