Thursday, February 25, 2016

Journey to Jerusalem: Failures Redeemed for Good

The Journey to Jerusalem is an opportunity to grow in grace and gratitude. Along the way, we may discover that God is redeeming the hard times, failures, sins of our lives in order to make a positive difference in the future. Let me be clear, I do NOT believe that God causes these hard times, failures or sins, but God CAN and DOES redeem them, transform them, use them for good for his glory.

Luke 13:6-9
Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. So he said to the gardener, ‘See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?’ He replied, ‘Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it. If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’”
Lord,
I love this story.
It makes me laugh out loud:
The gardener pleads for mercy.
The gardener offers to care for the fig tree,
to give it much needed attention and fertilizer,
the manure of grace!  :-)

Manure is not something
I usually think of as grace filled.
I've stepped in it.
I've scooped the poop.
I've scrapped it off of shoe bottoms.
I've put it around roses.
I've smelled it spread on crops.
I've even bought zoo doo!
(re-purposed elephant dung from a zoo!)

But your agricultural comparison is right on target.
A little attention,
a little fertilizer,
a little manure
can really make a plant grow and produce,
be fruitful.

So what are you trying to say about my life?
My faith, my discipleship, needs a little attention.
I need a little fertilizer to help me grow--
a little feces to make me fruitful,
a little dung in my daily walk with you,
a little poo to put the punch in my faith,
a little stuff to strengthen my sharing your love,
a little doo to help me do...

Ok, maybe I'm a little carried away.

On the way to Jerusalem,
help me see
how you are taking
the crap of my life
and redeeming it for good
for your glory.
Amen.


________________
At Elizabethtown Presbyterian Church, we are committing to journey the 6,150 miles from Elizabethtown, NC to Jerusalem, Israel in our walking, running, swimming, cycling, etc.

Track your miles, share them here, and join us on the Journey to Jerusalem.

We will post those miles online and on our banners in the sanctuary and in our fellowship building.  Together we will make our journey to Jerusalem!

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