Life This Side of Heaven Life This Side of Heaven

There’s a reason that old gardens –especially those large estate gardens you may visit in the summer – look more majestic than the average garden in your backyard.  Plants were given time to grow. We like to see results and we want to see them now. So, it’s not surprising that we may find ourselves expecting much the same when it comes to planting the seed of the Gospel. But it doesn’t always work that way.

“That’s crazy talk!” Now there’s handy phrase to use when the person you’re talking to doesn’t seem make sense.  It’s an informal way of saying, “You’re babbling!”  And yet there were those who were comfortable using a similar phrase to describe our Savior. The reality is that much of what you and I take for granted as a matter of faith sounds crazy to the world – until the Holy Spirit calls a person to faith by the Gospel.

This year is the 60th Anniversary of National Safety Council's defensive driving program. Some of the principles that it incorporates are based on techniques that were known even before that.  One of those principles has a lot in common with the instruction that Paul gives us here in 2 Corinthians.

Sharing the Gospel of our Savior’s love in this world can be difficult.  Sometimes it’s thrown back in our face like a bucket of cold water. It can be more than a little disheartening. As a result, we may want to bottle up the Good News that God has given us and keep it to ourselves. So, why keep doing it?  As Paul points out, the answer is something you don’t see yet, but you will. And it will be worth it!

Here in Mark, we hear of an instance in which the Pharisees accused Jesus of "trespassing." He crossed a fence that others had made to protect God's command and gift of the Sabbath by healing a man in the synagogue on that day. Jesus reminded them that He has authority over the Sabbath and certainly over any man-made fences that others had built around it to protect it. He assured them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath." In fact, even today, the opportunity for worship is all about healing.

Does the Church seem weak and disappointing? Is your pastor less than movie-star material? Don’t worry. Chances are good, as God’s Word points out, that even if you had Paul as your preacher, or a congregation as gifted as the one in Corinth, many folks would be still be unimpressed. But, as the apostle reminds us, that's not by accident.