
Jesus said to him, “No one who puts a hand to the plow
and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Luke 9:62
The time is almost
here. Our snow blowers will be replaced
by lawn mowers and our snow shovels with garden spades. Unfortunately, the time is ALMOST here. We are more than ready to put our hands to
the plow, but we would much prefer it not be a snow plow!
We want the piles of snow to
completely disappear and the soggy ground to dry up. We know the time is coming when the sun will be bright, the grass
green, and the days warm. But right now
is the time of cloudy skies, dirty piles of snow, and mud-caked boots.
Perhaps now is the time, before we
plow, to take a look at things. Let us
consider ourselves at the edge of the garden or field that is to be
plowed. As we begin to turn the soil we
focus our eyes on one spot at the other end of the field and keep our eyes on
that spot as we plow so our furrow will be straight. But when we reach the end of that first furrow, an interesting
thing happens. When we reach the other
end of the field, we pick up our plow, turn around, and begin to plow another
furrow back to where we started. It is
when we turn around that we see our progress.
We don’t look back while in the process of plowing, but at the end of
each row. And though we’ve tried to
keep our eyes on the one spot and have done our best to keep straight and true,
we sometimes see where we have dug into a rock, an old stump, or perhaps just
slightly veered off course, the result being a less than perfectly straight
furrow. If we had looked back in
mid-course of that furrow, it would only have made things worse. But at the end of the field, we not only
look at what we have done, but we also once again look ahead, set our eyes on a
spot at the other end of the field, and prepare to plow yet another
furrow. Only this time we take into
account what ground we have already covered, knowing where we might need to
adjust our paths so that our next furrow may be more true.
On Easter Sunday we looked at the
resurrection as a time of new beginnings and fresh starts. A time when what happened in the past no
longer mattered. As we say good-bye to
this winter and prepare for Spring, we would do well to remember the words of
Jesus. Learn from the past BEFORE
starting out on a new path. And once
you have set your eyes on the Kingdom of God, be aware of past challenges,
learn from them, but don’t look back and dwell on them. Keep your eyes on the horizon, try to be
mindful of the weaknesses and challenges ahead, and strive to keep your path
straight and true. The more you do
this, the less the imperfections of the past will show. Once you have produced a crop in your
garden, the only one that will remember the imperfections will be you. God will be too busy looking at what you
have grown.
See
You In Church,
Pastor Jim
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