The Dandelion Police - Let Us All Grow Together

This Fall, my WBS group is studying The Parables of Jesus and our verses this week were "AHA!!" for me.  From Matthew 13:27-30

So the servants of the owner came and said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow the good seeds in your field?  How then does it have tares?'  He said to them, 'an enemy has done this.'  The servants said to him, 'Do you want us then to go and gather them up?'  But he said, 'No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them.  LET BOTH GROW TOGETHER until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn."  (Caps and bold are mine...so awesome!)

Let both grow together...the wheat AND the weeds.
Let both grow together...the good AND the wicked.
Let both grow together...that which initially has the right roots AND that which initially has the bad roots.

Matthew Henry's Commentary:

This parable represents the present and future state of the gospel church.  Christ's care of it, the devil's enemy against it, the mixture there is in it of good and bad in this world, and the separation between them and the world...whatever is amiss in the church, we are sure it is not from Christ...no human skill can make an exact separation.  Those who oppose must not be cut off, but instructed...and though the good and bad are together in this world, yet at the great day they shall be parted...

There is good and bad in the church, and this is not the work of Christ, nor can we as humans, make the proper discernment as to play "Eeny-meeny-miney-mo" in order to determine who is sincere and who is not.

John Darby's Synopsis:

The result was that the kingdom here below no longer presented as whole the appearance of the Lord's own work,  He sows not tares...all must remain unremedied until the King's interposition at the time of harvest...Heretics, false brethren, will be there, as well as the the fruit of the Lord's word...at the time of harvest, the Lord will deal first with the tares...the servants are not capable of doing this. The intermingling (caused by their weakness and carelessness) is such, that in gathering out the tares they would uproot the wheat also...their service is with the good.  The execution of judgment on the wicked in this world does not belong to the servants of Christ.

Again....humans are not charged with judging the good and the bad.  We think we are and don't we know a few people who try really hard to pull pull out all the weeds before anything has even bloomed?  We are the Dandelion Police; there will be no yellow blossoms or dry petal wishes in this field of wildflowers!

And perhaps my favorite commentary on this lesson is from Albert Barnes' Notes:

1. That hypocrites and deceived persons must be expected in the church.

2.  That this is the work of the enemy of man...They belong to the world, and hypocrisy is only one form of sin.  The Christian religion never "made" a hypocrite.

3.  That all hope of removing them entirely would be vain.

4.  That an "attempt" to remove them altogether would injure real Christianity, by causing excitements, discord, and hard feelings even among Christians.

5.  That Christ will himself separate them at the proper time...those who so successfully imitate Christians as to make it difficult or impossible for man to distinguish them.

To be honest...I loved the Dandelion when I was little.  I loved yellow, I loved fluffy, I loved overnight transformation into a wishing weed.  As I am now responsible for my own lawn care (with my faithful mower husband), I have come to view the Dandelion a little more harshly...I do not want it's wispy white wishes to plant more wishes in my yard.  I have grabbed my badge and "think" that I am capable of discerning what is good and bad in my own field.

LET BOTH GROW TOGETHER...

Just as the roots of the wheat and tares become interwoven, and attempting to remove the weeds before the harvest is ready can destroy the wheat...so do we affect the maturity of Christian growth when we think we have the authority to criticize before the full potential is reached.

I think of my own path.  If someone would have gone all "round-up" on me when I was in my 20's, I would not be sitting here typing today.  And I know that there is so much more that I could be doing to prepare myself for the harvest.  But I still have days where my bad roots and my good roots intertwine, and I am not talking hair.

Here is the deal...every part of the Dandelion is useful:  Medicine, food, color dyes.  It is high in vitamins A, C, and K and used frequently in Asian salads.  Dandelions are grown as a crop in Belgium and they can be used in the production of wine and root beer - Raise the Roof!!

And I love this...if you mow it, it will produce a shorter-stalk to spite you!  Does that sound like some experiences within the church or what?
 

You know the saying "sometimes you're the bug, and sometimes you're the windshield"? Well...sometimes you are the wheat, and sometimes you are the weed.  But praise be to God, that Jesus is the sower and He says...LET BOTH GROW TOGETHER.  We should strive each day to be the wheat, to encourage tares to draw from our roots, to GROW TOGETHER until the time of harvest, careful not to "short-stalk" anyone who we deem less than useful.

May we put away our badges, gaze upon all there is to offer from a single yellow weed-flower, take a deep breath in....and exhale as we wish for ALL to be ready for the harvest.

AMEN.

Icky Weary Week...It Happens

"YOU GUYS!!!! Kristen Clark Welch just messaged me to say that some one just donated the balance for the well in Kenya. It is officially FULLY FUNDED!!!! heart emoticon I am overjoyed! So glad that we got to play a small part in this! We will continue to raise money for Mercy House through the book sales... I will talk with Kristen about setting up more goals or just leaving it as open donations as needed. There are a lot of overhead costs in the ministry with medical expenses etc. for the girls so I am excited that we can provide some extra income for them even beyond the well!" - Paula Rollo

What a message to land in my inbox this week!  I have had one of those weeks where I am too readily focused on this world that is full of all things icky right now:  Political snarkiness, injured athletes, blatantly unkind Christians, suicide, saturated fats, late summer humidity, cancer diagnosis, cancer deaths, 13-year old sweaty gym bags, broken air-conditioner, 8th grade bullies, ACT Prep...

I allow myself to be overwhelmed, when there is so much good going on every single day that is much more conducive to my mood and deserving of my joy.  Right after my daughter was born, I got a small spark to do missions work.  I have told my WBS group that I think it would be amazing to live abroad for a year doing missions work.  In my plan...I travel and help villages in poverty.  Through the Mom Quilt, I have the chance to be a part of an amazing missions project, however, God isn't choosing to send me through the passport process and hours of air borne entertainment just yet.

I have witnessed this week a community come together financially and through prayer for a young life cut short.

As I scroll through my facebook feed, I am brought to tears for a family I don't even know, but again, their story hits close to home.  Their son is in a deep coma with brain swelling after sustaining an ordinary hit in an ordinary football game.  Tears for the depth of their grief, for wanting a sign from God, for the emotional heaviness of sustaining hope, for the plethora of prayers that are pouring out not just for healing, but for a miracle.  

People still believe in miracles!  How joyful is that?  And how comforting to know we serve a God that is fully capable of performing that miracle...in His time.  Waiting is icky...

How my heart bursts for my son who sits at lunch with a kid that no one else will and puts himself out there to stand up against the kid bullying this kid.  That tears spill over when I ask about another kid that I hear is sitting by himself and my son knows, and he is torn because he already has someone he is looking out for and our school doesn't allow the grades to intermix at lunch.  I am doing my best to raise him right, so heads up girls wanting to marry this one...I will have a rigorous background check for you to complete that will date back to mid-hi lunch hour! 

Text received about ACT Prep, "I think that was really helpful. Like I feel I could take the ACT right now".  Okay...relief, but seriously, when did my sweet girl get old enough to take the ACT and pick colleges to send the results to?

To reinforce what I wrote last week:  one day at a time, one person at a time, one kind word/gesture/smile/prayer/triumph at a time.

Galatians 6:9-10 And let us not grow weary of doing good.  For in due season we will reap if we do not give up.  Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially those that belong to the family of believers.  

God is putting ALL things in place for His glory.  Job tells us it will be far greater than anything we can even begin to understand.  We can't give up.  It is easy to grow weary in this world, because this world is not what God intended it to be when He proclaimed "and it was good".  He allowed human nature the freedom to choose its course and that results in icky things that beat us down.  

I will completely own that I have allowed it to be a "weary" week.  But as I prayed over what to share with you today, I realized that I have been blessed to witness some of God's greatest good right before me, I just need to open my eyes and allow it to be all the good...one moment at a time.

  

An Empty Chair

John 11:35 Then Jesus wept.

Yesterday as I was getting ready to leave for work, I heard the clink of cereal hitting the sides of the bowl as my daughter prepared her morning meal.  I cautiously stepped into the kitchen and hesitated as I informed her we were out of milk.  I got the look I was expecting, but was quite impressed that no morsel of (store brand) Captain Crunch was wasted as it was hotly poured back into the box.  "We have nothing to eat".  Mind you, we were out of bread and milk...and this in my home constitutes "nothing to eat".

I did some calm and patient diversion to "why don't you cook some eggs" - which is a HUGE step for me before 9:00 and sans coffee.  And as I walked out to my car I was doing my very morning best to not let her huffiness get the best of me.

At 8:50 I get a text from my daughter, expecting it to say "I cooked some gooooood eggs this morning" and instead I get "A girl at our school passed away this morning.  They think she may have committed suicide. :("  My girl is this amazing mix of her dad and me, I see so much of him in her personality.  But from me, she did get the 'strong front' and deep in my mommy bones, I could tell there would be no front...this was affecting her.

And I found myself going back to my morning and so thankful to share a moment 'discussing' breakfast with my daughter.  Because somewhere in our small town, sat a mother who did not get the same opportunity on a foggy Thursday in September.

John 11:35 Then Jesus wept.

This verse finds Jesus entering the crowd after Lazurus' death.  There is much grief in the air and finger pointing at Jesus.  I think Jesus weeps for a couple of  reasons.  I think there is so much sadness in the air that He Himself is overcome.  But I think, equally, He is is weeping because the people just.don't.get.it...If they really believed that He is who He says He is, then why do they not expect Him to perform a miracle?  They (we) say they (we) believe, but when it comes down to tragedy and earthly situations, where do they (we) really stand?  Jesus weeps because He is angry at their lackadaisical approach to their salvation.  I can totally relate to crying when I am mad, and then I get mad that I am mad enough to cry and cry worse...

As the community gathered last night to pray for the family, my heart was warmed by the variety of students and churches in attendance.  We are not meant to understand God's ways, and that is really really hard for us...but we can rest peacefully that He will work ALL things for His good.  And I pray that He starts with the youth in our community.  I pray that he breaks down denominational walls and brings us all together to be a living example of His love.

I pray that this tragedy is a catalyst for real conversations, for brokenness to be acknowledged and for it to start with us, right here, right now.  That survivors guilt will float to the surface and be rescued by friends and family making a deliberate choice to be the hands and feet of Christ.  That those seeking answers will seek the open doors of the church and the open arms of God.

Our Pastor had last night's service planned out before she could have known of yesterday's events, but I felt like the whole service, from the music, to the reading from James, to the message, it all could have applied to what our town was experiencing.  The entire 45 minutes focused on using our words to build people up, speaking in kindness, and the power of the tongue.

As I scrolled through Facebook this morning, I saw a High School classmate that became a teacher and she talked of setting out each day to pay a compliment to the special needs kids in her school.  And today she walked in the door and one of them came up and gave her a running hug.  The parent approached her and said "she never does that to people, but she said she knew you".  One life at a time people...one moment at a time, one day at time, one kind word at a time.

Speak love, speak kindness, speak encouragement, speak support...be THAT PERSON that makes all the difference to someone.

Here is one of the songs from last night that really affected me, it has always been one of my favorites, but now it means a little more...I ask for prayers for our students and for the empty chair that was left at our high school this week.

Are You the Drinker or the Pourer?

One of my first times to 'fill-the-pulpit', the title of my inspiration was "How Do You See Your Cup?".  And with school, sports, church, and bible study back in full swing, I find myself feeling half-empty most evenings. So I am totally going to cheat this week and share with you something I wrote almost a year ago and shared with my congregation.  I hope you enjoy it!

In researching if the cup is half empty or half full, I found several opinions:

It doesn't matter, there is clearly room for more wine!

Half Air, Half Water - Technically the glass is always full.

Half Empty or Half Full?  Who Cares?  Fill it up and enjoy!

I never look at the glass half empty or half full.  I see it as a Work In Progress that will inevitably go either way.  It is not about how full or empty the glass is, but rather, what will you fill it with?  Are you filling it with things of this world that leave you feeling empty?  The things of this world are neither permanent or fulfilling, it is constant cycle evaporating out of your cup.  We keep adding to it, but there is no permanency, each day, the volume depletes a little more, and we go back and try to fill it back up.  

On the other hand, if we are filling it with something more eternal, say prayer, scripture, devotion, fellowship with others, our most precious Father...there will always be something in the cup.  And the more you allow Him to be poured into you, the fuller your cup will be, over-flowing.  

Is the cup half full or half empty?  It depends on whether you are pouring or drinking...So I need you to be visual with me here, like High-School Chemistry visual.  What would see in your spiritual cup? What have we been drinking in?  And just as important - What are we pouring in the cup of others?  It is fair to say that we can not give what we do not have...I can not pour lemonade into your cup if all I have is hot chocolate.  

Galatians 5:22-23 lists the Fruits of the Spirit and so let's put them into cups.  We have a Cup of Love, a Cup of Joy, one of Patience, one of Kindness (Yes!), one of Goodness, one of Faithfulness, a Cup of Gentleness, and a Cup of Self-Control (e-gads!).  Most of us are a "Work in Progress" and have all different levels of any one of these tasty fruits.  Sooooo...What is in your cup?  I can tell you that in my cup, there is very little Patience.  I am going to have a hard time pouring that into your cup, because, well, I simply tend to struggle here - I try, but, school supplies, empty gas tanks, bills, lines at Wal-Mart, the price of groceries - Who's with me?  On the other hand, I feel like my cup of Kindness could be poured for days, I am so incredibly fond of Kindness.  

We have to be aware of who we are around, who can fill our cup?  Are we hanging out with negative people that fill it with complaints, all the while depleting our cup of Joy?  What about people who lack Faith?  When you are with them, does your cup sit empty for days, does your Faith start to evaporate?  Or do you use that time to pour your Faith into them?  All about chemistry...

It doesn't matter if the glass is half empty or half full...Be grateful you have a glass and there is something in it.  I am thankFULL that I can admit I have a shallow cup of Patience because I always have something to talk to God about.  

This opinion also makes me think of the musicians that play on the street.  And I wonder if at the end of the day, it isn't what is in the cup, but the the fact that anything at all is in there is what means something.  They made an impact on someone that day and both parties have a full cup.  1 Corinthians 14:7-9 If musical instruments...aren't played so that each note is distinct and in tune, how will anyone be able to catch the melody and enjoy the music?  If the trumpet call can't be distinguished, will anyone show up for the battle?

Bob Goff  - God isn't worried whether the cup is half full or half empty.  He wonders which thirsty person we will give it to?  It isn't just who we are around that influences the volume in our cup...it is also what we do for those that have no cup.  Matthew 25:40 And the King will answer them, "Truly I say to you, as you did it ton one of the lease of these my brothers, you did it to me."

People, we do not fill our cup to brag about it, to say "my cup is fuller than your cup".  It is going to evaporate or else your pride is going to knock it over and spill it.  Have you ever spilled your dinner drink? Raise your hand!  Just last week?!  What do we do?  We run and grab a towel to soak it all back up.  And someone (usually the momma) is irritated that you wasted a perfectly good beverage.  So now try and picture wringing all that liquid back into your cup.  What used to be full to the brim (because we can never quite knock over an empty cup), might get you a swallow.  There is no fulfillment for the drinker or the pourer...what a waste.

How many of us are doing that with God's blessings?  We are so proud of the talent He has given us, but sometimes, we don't want to share.  Or maybe we become so proud, we don't want to help someone else for fear that they might actually do it better than us?  And one day, the Joy you received from your talent has evaporated, it no longer exists.  1 Corinthians 10:12 & 16 Don't be so naive and self-confident.  You are not exempt.  You could fall flat on your face as easily as anyone else.  Forget about self-confidence; it's useless.  Cultivate God confidence.  When we drink the cup of blessing, aren't we taking into ourselves the blood, the very life, of Christ?...

We MUST not give up on each other - not our friends, our family, our church family, our community - we must continually seek opportunities to fill each other's cups with the Fruits of the Spirit.  More importantly, we must NEVER give up on God.  No matter how empty it may seem our cup is, it is never too late to realize it and start pouring.  Sometimes I have to continually renew my cup of Patience while God works on my heart or the heart of others.  I have to take a little sip and give it over to Him in prayer.  

What is in your cup today?  What would you like to be in your cup?  My cup of honesty says most days it is easier to fill my cup with wine over patience.  (Can I get an AMEN?!)  Wow...what are we filling other's cups with?  What do we wish we were filling it with?  It is NEVER too late to make it right.

God loves each and everyone of us - with our empty cups, our full cups, our crazy concoctions that we struggle with day-in and day-out.

Luke 6:38 Give and it will be given to you.  they will pour into your lap a good-measure.  Pressed down, shaken together, and running over.  For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.

And you bet Psalm 23:5 - My cup overflows with your blessings!  AMEN!

**Have a blessed and safe Labor Day my friends!**