Since 911, America has tried to find its place
in the world, and especially the Mideast. It has become Obama’s chance to establish his place in history, not unlike a
baseball star hoping to win a place in the Hall of Fame. I realize that finding one’s place
in the world is both the hope and bane of human existence. Men and women of
fame and success spend a lot of energy, and their fortunes,
cementing their place among men.
The author of Hebrews speaks, however, of anonymous Hall of Faith-ers who never found a place on earth, going “about in goatskins, destitute (men of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in
deserts, mountains, caves, and holes in the ground” (He. 11:38). They were homeless. To suggest we follow their example
may seem a bit severe. But didn't Jesus exhibit the same spirit of detachment, “the Son of Man has no place?”
Because we are inclined to attach ourselves to places on earth, God “un-places” us—an often painful uprooting that allows Him to root us in Christ (Col 2:7). Jesus says, “find your place in Me, and My Father
and I will come and make our place in you.” (John 14:23). Is there any other place you'd rather be?
This week my oncologist told me that of all persons with pancreatic cancer, only 15% are diagnosed while still in stage one (localized). I am, by God’s grace, a member of that modest faction. After pancreatic cancer has begun to spread, and surely after it has metastasized, surgery is ineffective. Only in the early stage is it most likely the tumor and its roots can be eliminated. But even then pancreatic cancers can hide and return. Cancer survivors must be vigilant to guard against that possibility. Thus, it is probable I will undergo months of post-surgery chemotherapy.
Of course the spiritual analogy shouts at us. Every one of us is born with a root of sin (called flesh), which is incapable of doing anything but growing and producing sin (tumors). And while the Cross, like the surgeon’s knife, has removed the tumor (Rom. 6:6, 11), the surrounding tissues of our heart still contain that nasty self-serving, self-loving, self-protecting thing we call flesh. (We are all too aware of its unwelcomed influence.) But, thank God, there are two sides to the surgeon’s knife (the Cross): one deals with the power of sin (eliminating the tumor); the other deals with ongoing presence of sin (like hidden cancer cells, waiting to return).
“Unless the knife is applied to the ‘flesh,’ it will always be ground for the enemy to attack, so as to weaken us in the conflict. The ‘flesh’ must be kept under the knife of the Cross… Our prayer must be: ‘Lord, apply the knife of the cross to every bit of the old life in me, where you can see it—down deep in the secret places I do not know.” (Jessie Penn Lewis, “The Conquest of Canaan”)
“Just say a little prayer,” one of Dionne Warwick’s popular songs, is not something you’ll find in the Bible. Yet countless people have been promised “If you say a little prayer, you are saved.” Billy Graham once said he thought only a fourth of those who said the sinner’s prayer at his crusades were really born again. In 2011, a George Barna survey seemed to confirm that; the survey showed that nearly half of all adults in America have prayed a little prayer and believe they are going to heaven, even though, afterward, they never attended a church or read the Bible.
In the parable of the sower, the seed that fell on rocky or thorny ground couldn’t take root and it died. Paul described true believers as those who are firmly rooted and then built up in Christ (Col. 2:7). A seed that doesn’t take root doesn’t grow. But why do some seeds take root while others don't?
The answer is simple. The Bible says “with your heart you believe” (Ro 10:9). Only God can open the heart. And if the heart is not genuinely open to receive the seed of Christ, it will never be rooted. So, the little prayer is not the issue. As A.W. Tozer said, “It isn’t the wording that’s important; it’s the state of the heart of the one saying it.” Paul says you will always reap what you sow (Gal. 6:7). But you cannot reap from a seed that never got planted in the first place.
Who can you trust nowadays? That question took on new meaning for me when I had surgery last month. I was anesthetized and cut open by complete strangers. What made me think I could trust them?
And what about the media? If you watch cable news, you know of the feuding between CNN, MSNBC and Fox—each reporting the 'news' with its own bias. And can you really trust any radio or TV commentator who gets ridiculously rich by telling people what they want to hear?
In 1957, Johnny Carson had a TV game show called “Who do You Trust?”—it was similar to The Newlywed Game. Carson would tell the male contestant the category of the upcoming question; the man would then have to decide whether to answer the question himself or "trust" his wife to do so. I wonder how many arguments ensued after the closing credits. “I love you honey, but I don’t trust you” makes funny TV, but it doesn’t play well in the boudoir.
Trust is no joking matter. History is replete with examples of misplaced trust. So in this world of distrust—from preachers to politicians, from big banks to big government—we know we can confidently trust our Father in Heaven. “But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit” (Jeremiah 17:7-8).
Everyone who is reading this blog wants to grow. And growth always means change. The problem is that we want to grow, but we find it difficult to change. But change and growth are inseparable.
When a seed is planted in the earth, it begins to grow. And as it does, it changes its form—from kernel to sprout, from shoot to plant. As the seed grows, it changes into a healthy plant, effortlessly. Is it possible that our process of change and growth should be as effortless?
Consider this: Jesus compares God’s Word to a seed (Mark 4:15). And if God’s Word is like a seed growing in you, doesn’t it make sense that growth should be fairly effortless? After all, you can’t make it grow. It just does—because that is the nature of a ‘seed’—it grows. But in the case of God’s Word, it doesn’t change as it grows. Rather, it changes YOU. But let's get real! There is effort involved: the effort is to stay focused on God’s Word.
See that what you have heard from the beginning [God's Word] remains in you… let your roots grow down into him and draw up nourishment from him, so you will grow in faith, strong and vigorous in the truth you were taught (1 John 2:24; Colossians 2:7 NLT).
Paul's reference to being rooted in Christ (Col. 2:7) is drawn from the metaphor of a tree (common throughout Scripture) but with apparent emphasis on roots and soil.
In the parable of the sower and the seed, Jesus spoke of four types of soil. Each soil received the same seed but not all bore fruit. Jesus explains that the soil is like your heart, and the seed is the word of God. (Mark 4:33-34) The expectation of the sower is that the seed will go deep into the soil and bear fruit. Though the same seed is sown, only one type of soil permits the seed to bear fruit. Hard soil, like a hard heart, cannot receive the seed. Shallow soil, like a half-hearted person, does not allow the seed to go deep enough to germinate and bear fruit. Soil that has not been cleared of weeds and rocks, like a heart otherwise occupied, cannot nurture the seed and bear fruit. Only seed that is sown into good soil bears much fruit.
What is the significance of fruit bearing? First, Jesus said our Father is glorified when we bear much fruit (John 15:8). Second, we were planted in Christ Jesus to bear fruit. Paul uses 'good works' synonymously with fruit. (Rom. 6:4; Eph. 2:10). In Colossians 2:7, Paul is telling us that if we sink our roots deep into Christ, we will not be able to stop the fruit from coming. The good works will come like fruit falling off a tree.
This Tuesday was the first day of Fall—the rainy season will be here before you know it. On one hand, I'm glad I won't have to water the yard. But on the other hand, rain-soaked soil is going to germinate ‘weed seeds’ that have been dormant all summer! Over the next few months, these weeds are going to sprout and increase in number and size until they take over my plants and shrubs. I loathe the thought, but the day of reckoning (pulling weeds) is inescapable.
Do you remember Jesus’ parable on “sowing,” in which He says the Word of God is a seed (Luke 8:11)? Jesus illustrates how the seed planted in good soil (our receptive hearts) will sprout, spring up, grow and increase. Peter also uses this metaphor, saying we have been born of imperishable seed through the living and enduring word of God (1 Peter 1:23). The problem is that when we were born again from this “living” seed, our hearts were already seeded and weeded with misbeliefs and unbelief. The uprooting of these weeds and replacing them with good seed is called “transformation.” (Ro. 12:2)
James explains that the transformation cannot be effective unless the Word is “engrafted.” (1:21) Used only this one time in the Bible, the word means to implant or embed. The seed must be deeply planted within the “soil” of a heart where it can sprout, spring up, and increase until it controls the mind, heals the emotions, and realigns the will. But for this to happen, the Word must be embedded, and remain there in a permanent fixed position long enough to be deeply rooted.
What is keeping the Word of God from “growing like a weed” in your heart? God’s powerful Word should be taking over and pushing out everything in its way. Perhaps you’ve been putting off the day when you will have to pull those weeds of unbelief from your heart to make room for new seeds of truth. Stop ignoring your weeds: the day of reckoning has arrived.
