I walked out early one day this week to rake grass. The dog and the cat decided to go along. The dog thinks it’s his duty to follow me around and protect me - even from turkey vultures who have invaded our air space. But I’m not quite sure about the cat. I don’t know why she goes along. That particular morning, I decided it was comic relief.
I had raked a pile of hay about four feet tall and had moved on down the field. When I heard the cat meow, I looked to see what she was doing because she’s normally a very quiet cat. She was surveying the pile of hay. Suddenly she sprang, I assume, to get on top of it for a better view of everything. But her spring landed her about two-thirds of the way up the pile. It honestly looked like a cartoon - with hay and cat legs all avalanching down. When she touched solid ground again, she rocketed to the tree line where she lay, her tail flipping back and forth, expressing her total disgust with the whole thing.
She probably didn’t appreciate my laughing.
I continued working, thinking about possible ways to relate what I’d just seen to something God might be teaching me. Maybe I am attempting something that has little profit and will not succeed. But that seemed like a reach. Perhaps it was just God’s way of giving me some amusement - and I continued raking hay.
Not too long later, I was tired enough that I decided to go pick blueberries; that’s a lot easier than raking hay into piles. I was in for a shock.
I had last picked blueberries four days earlier. I had about decided they weren’t worth picking this year. They are small and not so sweet. In the heat and the dry summer we’ve had, they just aren’t very good. But that was before we got four inches of rain!
The blueberries were twice as big as they had been and they were so sweet I decided to employ Christopher’s method of picking blueberries: one for the bucket, three for my mouth.
Then it hit me. The rain! The life-giving water is such a powerful illustration of the Living Water that we can only get from Jesus Christ. We need it, and Him, for thriving and producing fruit - good, desirable fruit. What we produce in our lives, apart from God, is filthy rags - kind of like the blueberries that weren’t worth picking. In contrast, the blueberries that responded to the water were very desirable and wonderful - just like the fruit we can produce for the glory of God when we’re seeking Him, relying on Him, following His ways, being obedient to His law. The difference is almost unbelievable!
And here’s the kicker! The rain which fell didn’t care if the blueberry bush was there. It didn’t impact the rain. Similarly, even though our obedience to God’s law affects God’s heart, it doesn’t impact any of God’s attributes, His holiness or character. God’s law is for our good; it’s totally for our benefit.
I had thought God was using the cat to teach me something that morning. But He just used her to get my attention. The blueberries and the rain were the object lesson. Praise God for His goodness.
I had raked a pile of hay about four feet tall and had moved on down the field. When I heard the cat meow, I looked to see what she was doing because she’s normally a very quiet cat. She was surveying the pile of hay. Suddenly she sprang, I assume, to get on top of it for a better view of everything. But her spring landed her about two-thirds of the way up the pile. It honestly looked like a cartoon - with hay and cat legs all avalanching down. When she touched solid ground again, she rocketed to the tree line where she lay, her tail flipping back and forth, expressing her total disgust with the whole thing.
She probably didn’t appreciate my laughing.
I continued working, thinking about possible ways to relate what I’d just seen to something God might be teaching me. Maybe I am attempting something that has little profit and will not succeed. But that seemed like a reach. Perhaps it was just God’s way of giving me some amusement - and I continued raking hay.
Not too long later, I was tired enough that I decided to go pick blueberries; that’s a lot easier than raking hay into piles. I was in for a shock.
I had last picked blueberries four days earlier. I had about decided they weren’t worth picking this year. They are small and not so sweet. In the heat and the dry summer we’ve had, they just aren’t very good. But that was before we got four inches of rain!
The blueberries were twice as big as they had been and they were so sweet I decided to employ Christopher’s method of picking blueberries: one for the bucket, three for my mouth.
Then it hit me. The rain! The life-giving water is such a powerful illustration of the Living Water that we can only get from Jesus Christ. We need it, and Him, for thriving and producing fruit - good, desirable fruit. What we produce in our lives, apart from God, is filthy rags - kind of like the blueberries that weren’t worth picking. In contrast, the blueberries that responded to the water were very desirable and wonderful - just like the fruit we can produce for the glory of God when we’re seeking Him, relying on Him, following His ways, being obedient to His law. The difference is almost unbelievable!
And here’s the kicker! The rain which fell didn’t care if the blueberry bush was there. It didn’t impact the rain. Similarly, even though our obedience to God’s law affects God’s heart, it doesn’t impact any of God’s attributes, His holiness or character. God’s law is for our good; it’s totally for our benefit.
I had thought God was using the cat to teach me something that morning. But He just used her to get my attention. The blueberries and the rain were the object lesson. Praise God for His goodness.
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