Just as we got used to summer it's time to get back to school. Things are changing. Heraclitus claims that the only thing that doesn't change is change itself. How well have we adapted to change? Some people like to live in the memory of what was. Some like to live expectant of what will be. Others like things "just the way they are". It's not hard to identify these attitudes, just ask for a change and you'll know where people stand. Yet, we've all had to adapt to change. When I was young school started after "Labor Day", stores closed on Sunday, and if we misbehaved there was always a teacher with a big paddle waiting for us. Now it's hard to even imagine those things as a real or even possible today.
Everything changes! Whether change is good or bad mostly depends on our perspective. As I walked through the cloud forest in Costa Rica there was a giant tree that fell. It had been part of the forest canopy. Now there was light pouring through a natural skylight in the mostly shaded forest. It was breathtaking to see. Flowers and plants in that area were different than the surrounding vegetation. They were bright, fast growing, and lush. I was informed that every time a giant fell, seeds that had lain dormant for years were quickly sprouting from the sunlight. With time, another giant or two would rise and become part of the canopy. Death brought change and in that change was life.
The Gospel is in there. Can we see it, hear it? Jesus died that we may have life. Every time we share the love of God we bring light to the shadows. There are seeds that have been there for years just waiting to sprout forth in life. The only thing that may be in the way is the canopy. That canopy can be "power", "selfishness", "pride", or "stubbornness". We may not want to change. We may have gotten used to the shadows. We may think that this is the way things "ought" to be. Yet still we ask; why isn't this or that growing? All around us there is life waiting to bloom. Give those seeds a chance to shine in all their glory. Change will happen. It will come by death (natural) or by a willingness to die to self (humility) and pass on your place in the sun.
Matthew 4:16 the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.
Matthew 5:14-16 You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
There are many more but regardless of how many scriptures there are we can't change or change things unless our heart is changed by and for God. How do you feel? Worried about what may change? Stuck on keeping things as they are? Excited about the future? Remember, whatever the future holds, He holds the future. I can't wait!
In Love through Christ;
Pastor Ed Garcia
Everything changes! Whether change is good or bad mostly depends on our perspective. As I walked through the cloud forest in Costa Rica there was a giant tree that fell. It had been part of the forest canopy. Now there was light pouring through a natural skylight in the mostly shaded forest. It was breathtaking to see. Flowers and plants in that area were different than the surrounding vegetation. They were bright, fast growing, and lush. I was informed that every time a giant fell, seeds that had lain dormant for years were quickly sprouting from the sunlight. With time, another giant or two would rise and become part of the canopy. Death brought change and in that change was life.
The Gospel is in there. Can we see it, hear it? Jesus died that we may have life. Every time we share the love of God we bring light to the shadows. There are seeds that have been there for years just waiting to sprout forth in life. The only thing that may be in the way is the canopy. That canopy can be "power", "selfishness", "pride", or "stubbornness". We may not want to change. We may have gotten used to the shadows. We may think that this is the way things "ought" to be. Yet still we ask; why isn't this or that growing? All around us there is life waiting to bloom. Give those seeds a chance to shine in all their glory. Change will happen. It will come by death (natural) or by a willingness to die to self (humility) and pass on your place in the sun.
Matthew 4:16 the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.
Matthew 5:14-16 You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
There are many more but regardless of how many scriptures there are we can't change or change things unless our heart is changed by and for God. How do you feel? Worried about what may change? Stuck on keeping things as they are? Excited about the future? Remember, whatever the future holds, He holds the future. I can't wait!
In Love through Christ;
Pastor Ed Garcia
