 | Ever since I can remember, my father, who died at 92, planted a garden. He prepared the soil and sowed the seed. Then came the weeding and watering and before long, -- beans and beets, carrots and tomatoes! Dad didn't use poisonous pesticides in his garden because he cared about the long term results of his land use, he loved birds and wanted to protect the soil and the underground water supply. His mission was "living simply", growing his own vegetables and responsible land use and all of this is valuable but God cares about our spirits as well. Jesus talked about gardening in an analogy comparing gardening to "sowing God's Word". In fact Jesus said the Word was like "good seed" sown in the earth. What you "sow" is what your harvest will be. We are not called to change other people but to love them in God's way, helping when we can and sharing God's truth with love, extending forgiveness and asking for it when we need to. Sharing inklings of God in your everyday conversation plants seeds, Share it in note cards and letters. Send a postcard to a kid who is struggling. My cousin celebrated 50 years of marriage in church with a renewal of vows. What a witness to what life can be. May God give increased spiritual vigor and commitment to people young and old who were witnesses.
I love the Wycliffe Bible translators organization because their mission is to meet the deep needs of people by translating the Bible into their unwritten languages . They don't force their culture on anyone but they translate and provide a book. People who have the Bible in their "heart language" can apply it to their life circumstances with understanding. They are better prepared to negotiate with the modern world. Their churches are indigenous and they better avoid manipulation from people who may have selfish interests at heart and most importantly, they can participate in God's kingdom and life with God now and forever. But what about our own culture in our post modern era? For one thing we are traveling too fast and not making time for God. We have often been so carried away by values of materialism and success that it has become greed and over work rather than being thankful for our blessings. Would we be more blessed if we learned to make do with "enough"and were more faithful to our families? What if we supported third world children or missions or a search for alternative energy with our abundance. What if our children and nieces and nephews who live in this fast paced society and hear the Christian faith denigrated in the world would see it at work in our lives? What if we were "seeking first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and trusting that all things would be added to us as well"? We might have the time to share with them in honest meaningful relevant ways so that they would know that though we struggle too, God can be trusted. Let's live so that the children see God's "Light" shine in us. That means resisting the "god's" of power, sensuality and selfishness and living our lives in God's peace and love. We won't do it perfectly. God never said we would be perfect but we can humbly go in the right direction, confess our sins when we fail and find God there to restore us.
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My testimony
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Princeton, New Jersey
