Galatians 6:9
And let us not get tired of doing what is right, for after a while we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t get discouraged and give up.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” ~ Dr. Seuss in The Lorax
If you are familiar with The Lorax, by Dr. Seuss, you know that it’s a story about greed. A character known as the “Once-ler” cuts down a “Truffula tree” and creates a multi-purpose object called a “thneed”. The Lorax protests the harvesting of the Truffula trees, citing a need to protect this vegetation and the surrounding environment. But the Once-ler persists. And as he sells his “thneeds” and begins to make money, he recruits others to help produce them. This leads to all sorts of problems…from pollution to safety hazards and risk to the lives of family members and friends. Ultimately, the last Truffula tree is hacked down…and there is no way to produce more “thneeds”. The workers are sick and injured…and things are in a mess.
It looks hopeless…and the Lorax disappears into the sky through a hole in the smog. Later, a boy comes along and begins asking questions. Where is the Lorax? What happened? The whole story is a flashback sequence, as the Once-ler explains what has transpired. He looks down upon a stone on which the Lorax had etched one word…unless. The Once-ler realizes that the Lorax was trying to tell him that UNLESS someone cares enough, things will never get better. UNLESS someone tirelessly does what is right, we’ll never get anywhere! So the Once-ler gives the little boy a seed…for a Truffula tree…and encourages him to plant it and set things right.
I once taught a series of Senior High Sunday school lessons one summer using Dr. Seuss books. The kids thought I was nuts for the first Sunday or two…and then they started showing up in bigger numbers. They were eager to see what book I would choose for the week and how I would dovetail it with scriptures to discover what God wanted to tell them and how this related to their life. We can learn a lot from a children’s book author…which is proof that God can use anyone – ANYWHERE! And the point I want to make today is that we cannot give up. We have to be like the Lorax …we have to keep standing up for what is right.
We have to keep helping people – and loving them – even when they hurt our feelings or disrespect us. We may have doors slammed in our faces, unanswered phone calls or messages (or even rude and dramatic hang-ups!), be the victim of unkind words and gestures, and more. We may feel discouraged, insulted, offended, heartbroken...and weary. But we must keep doing what God has commanded us to do in His name.
Have we learned nothing from Jesus? He was bruised, beaten, spit upon, humiliated, ridiculed, slapped…and crucified…all because of His message of love and kindness, grace and mercy, forgiveness and humble obedience to our Heavenly Father. For offering us Eternal Life, His very life was brutally taken…for our sins, His blood literally poured from His body and spread over the ground. In light of these facts, how can we fail to persist?
Don’t be confused…there is a difference between giving up and stepping aside to allow God room to work. I like to think that perhaps this is what the Lorax did. He had done the right thing…always and forever…and when there was nothing else that HE could do, he stepped aside. Ultimately, the Once-ler realized his mistake. Perhaps that wasn’t merely a “coincidence”! Maybe God used the Lorax to plant “seeds” of hope and reason…to teach long-lasting lessons that would not fully “bear fruit” until after he had moved on. There have been many times in my life when I have become discouraged over someone or a certain situation. Often, others have told me, “You are planting seeds that you cannot even realize – and may never see develop. But they are there.” I believe this is true…I have seen it firsthand in my life and the lives of others.
Let’s all remember three things… 1) it’s not over until GOD says “It’s over!”; 2) just because we cannot readily see results doesn’t mean that our efforts to do the right thing – to love and honor God with our obedience, our actions and our service – is not productive; and 3) “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” God is calling us to care. He is calling us to hang in there…to stick with it…to keep on “keepin’ on” in Jesus’ name. We cannot rest on our laurels…or slack off and hope that someone else will step up and take our place. The time for rest and reward will come…someday…in God’s time. And we will enjoy it fully in His presence. I’ll see you there… won’t I?
©2014 Debbie Robus
And let us not get tired of doing what is right, for after a while we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t get discouraged and give up.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” ~ Dr. Seuss in The Lorax
If you are familiar with The Lorax, by Dr. Seuss, you know that it’s a story about greed. A character known as the “Once-ler” cuts down a “Truffula tree” and creates a multi-purpose object called a “thneed”. The Lorax protests the harvesting of the Truffula trees, citing a need to protect this vegetation and the surrounding environment. But the Once-ler persists. And as he sells his “thneeds” and begins to make money, he recruits others to help produce them. This leads to all sorts of problems…from pollution to safety hazards and risk to the lives of family members and friends. Ultimately, the last Truffula tree is hacked down…and there is no way to produce more “thneeds”. The workers are sick and injured…and things are in a mess.
It looks hopeless…and the Lorax disappears into the sky through a hole in the smog. Later, a boy comes along and begins asking questions. Where is the Lorax? What happened? The whole story is a flashback sequence, as the Once-ler explains what has transpired. He looks down upon a stone on which the Lorax had etched one word…unless. The Once-ler realizes that the Lorax was trying to tell him that UNLESS someone cares enough, things will never get better. UNLESS someone tirelessly does what is right, we’ll never get anywhere! So the Once-ler gives the little boy a seed…for a Truffula tree…and encourages him to plant it and set things right.
I once taught a series of Senior High Sunday school lessons one summer using Dr. Seuss books. The kids thought I was nuts for the first Sunday or two…and then they started showing up in bigger numbers. They were eager to see what book I would choose for the week and how I would dovetail it with scriptures to discover what God wanted to tell them and how this related to their life. We can learn a lot from a children’s book author…which is proof that God can use anyone – ANYWHERE! And the point I want to make today is that we cannot give up. We have to be like the Lorax …we have to keep standing up for what is right.
We have to keep helping people – and loving them – even when they hurt our feelings or disrespect us. We may have doors slammed in our faces, unanswered phone calls or messages (or even rude and dramatic hang-ups!), be the victim of unkind words and gestures, and more. We may feel discouraged, insulted, offended, heartbroken...and weary. But we must keep doing what God has commanded us to do in His name.
Have we learned nothing from Jesus? He was bruised, beaten, spit upon, humiliated, ridiculed, slapped…and crucified…all because of His message of love and kindness, grace and mercy, forgiveness and humble obedience to our Heavenly Father. For offering us Eternal Life, His very life was brutally taken…for our sins, His blood literally poured from His body and spread over the ground. In light of these facts, how can we fail to persist?
Don’t be confused…there is a difference between giving up and stepping aside to allow God room to work. I like to think that perhaps this is what the Lorax did. He had done the right thing…always and forever…and when there was nothing else that HE could do, he stepped aside. Ultimately, the Once-ler realized his mistake. Perhaps that wasn’t merely a “coincidence”! Maybe God used the Lorax to plant “seeds” of hope and reason…to teach long-lasting lessons that would not fully “bear fruit” until after he had moved on. There have been many times in my life when I have become discouraged over someone or a certain situation. Often, others have told me, “You are planting seeds that you cannot even realize – and may never see develop. But they are there.” I believe this is true…I have seen it firsthand in my life and the lives of others.
Let’s all remember three things… 1) it’s not over until GOD says “It’s over!”; 2) just because we cannot readily see results doesn’t mean that our efforts to do the right thing – to love and honor God with our obedience, our actions and our service – is not productive; and 3) “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” God is calling us to care. He is calling us to hang in there…to stick with it…to keep on “keepin’ on” in Jesus’ name. We cannot rest on our laurels…or slack off and hope that someone else will step up and take our place. The time for rest and reward will come…someday…in God’s time. And we will enjoy it fully in His presence. I’ll see you there… won’t I?
©2014 Debbie Robus
