Maintenance Versus Development

Dear Worshipers,

A few weeks ago my mother and father-in-law celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. Following the celebration, my family lingered to spend some time with them, most of which I spent helping around their home with odd jobs. My father-in-law’s health has deteriorated so that he has a very limited capacity for any kind of work around the house It was my pleasure to serve them and show my love to them during those days.

We had asked them to prepare a list of things they would like for me to do while we were there so as to maximize my time and effort to their greatest benefit. I have done a number of other things for them in the last couple of years, such as painting and installing a ceiling fan. They had mentioned some projects of that sort again prior to our arrival.

As I looked at and worked through the list, I realized that much of this list was maintenance and not new projects. That was a little disappointing at first, but then as I prayed and worked it hit me that this necessary stuff was no longer possible for my father-in-law That was a sad realization, and sobering as well. I did not really want to clean and organize and haul trash to the dump, I wanted to do some things that would improve their quality of life in some small way. I was disappointed.

There was a spiritual truth in that for me as I pondered it during my bushwacking. There is a need for the general care of our spiritual grounds as much as there is a need to develop new areas. This kind of care can be tedious at best, and at least VERY boring. Weeding is a good example.

Though it is not a very pleasant job, weeding is essential in an area where you are trying to grow something. Weeds are insidious and pervasive. They will choke out other plants and flowers and keep them from developing. They will overtake an untended garden in short order, leaving the gardener with a true mess.

The same is true for our souls. If we do not allow the Spirit to come in and clean us out regularly, we are in danger of choking out the precious truths we hold dear. Bad attitudes and thoughts can begin to overwhelm the good, subtly at first, until the eventually consume the mind. We must be careful to tend the garden of our souls, lest we forsake the seeds that have been planted there by the Lord.

So, before you go digging up another plot, examine your current one for weeds. Do the maintenance required to get your soul in tip top shape again. With the warmth and rain of the season, things will grow with just a little help from you.

50 years of careful attention can produce an amazing harvest. Won’t you yield your life to the Lord for Him to produce in you more than you could have ever imagined? It is worth the effort.

In Christ,

Pastor Scott