Hebrews 12:14-17
Work at getting along with each
other and with God. Otherwise you’ll never get so much as a glimpse of
God. Make sure no one gets left out of God’s generosity. Keep a sharp
eye out for weeds of bitter discontent. A thistle or two gone to seed
can ruin a whole garden in no time. Watch out for the Esau syndrome:
trading away God’s lifelong gift in order to satisfy a short-term
appetite. You well know how Esau later regretted that impulsive act and
wanted God’s blessing—but by then it was too late, tears or no tears.
Scripture
quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002
by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs,
CO. All rights reserved.
A couple of years ago, Greg
planted some ivy in the back yard along the bluff line for “ground
cover.” Ivy creeps and crawls and does a good job of filling in areas
where grass doesn’t grow well and you want some “greenery.” This ivy
has done so well that it has virtually taken over a nearby cedar tree.
I’ve watched the vine trail up the tree and noted its progression.
First, it overtook a lopped off branch…then it reached a knot in the
trunk…and then the vine far surpassed the knot and began to wrap all
around the tree.
Greg knew about the “habits” of ivy when he
planted this ground cover, so he isn’t surprised that the vine latched
onto this tree. He says he will remove the ivy this fall so that it
doesn’t kill the tree…and he is keeping a close eye on things now to
make sure that the tree isn’t harmed in any way.
You probably see
where I am going with this. We sometimes start out with the best of
intentions…and suddenly, we are on the wrong path. Or we allow
ourselves to get caught up in something we know is at best a “slippery
slope” with the potential to get us into places we don’t need to
be…cause a problem between us and someone else…or negate our Christian
witness altogether…but we can’t seem to help ourselves. Or maybe we
just plain don’t want to do differently! We can often be pretty
selfish!
We need to hear the words of this scripture passage and
pay close attention. None of us know how much time we have… and
certainly, we have no business wasting a single minute! God’s kingdom
cannot – and should not – wait on us to decide to get our act together
and serve Him honorably and obediently!
So make this the day that
you “trim the vines” and pull the weeds. Get it right, once and for
all…and serve God with everything you have. Make sure your conduct is
above reproach at all times. Choose your words and actions wisely. And
never, ever risk trading God’s blessings for tears of regret!
©2016 Debbie Robus
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