Eastertide
May 13, 2015
Scripture Reading: Psalm 1
Happy are those
who do not follow the advice of the wicked,
or take the path that sinners tread,
or sit in the seat of scoffers;
but their delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law they meditate day and night.
They are like trees
planted by streams of water,
which yield their fruit in its season,
and their leaves do not wither.
In all that they do, they prosper.
The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
or the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
Although Oklahoma has been suffering from the results of a serious draught for a few years now, recently some parts of the state have literally been flooded with too much rain in too little time. In both instances, the depth and the stamina of the roots of plants are what determines whether they continue to grow and bear fruit. It is the depths and the stamina of our roots in Jesus Christ that control whether we bear fruit for the Kingdom of God.
Jesus used agricultural imagery to describe our work in his service. The Parable of Weeds among the Wheat in Matthew 13 describes his direction to let the weeds sown among the wheat continue to grow and he would deal with them. Our job is to continue to live our lives in the way of Jesus and to share with others Jesus’ teachings about his way. It is a full time job to love as Jesus loved and to share that love with others. We cannot fulfill these obligations if we are investing most of our time and energies condemning others. While God may work through us and our love to reach those who do not know God, the Lord is the one who saves us all when we fail to follow the path.
God’s act of salvation through Jesus Christ is being done in real time now. I believe, God hones us and clears away that which holds us back from full actualization of our love through him every minute of every day we give ourselves over to God’s love. To me, Matthew 3:12, His winnowing-fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing-floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.’ Is not talking about a final sentence to hell as much as it is talking about the work of the Lord to cleanse us and make us whole.
Prayer: Lord, I pray that my roots grow deep and wide into your fertile soil so that my life may be of worth to your purpose now and forever. Amen.
All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.