Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Brown Grass

Today, they are predicting rain. Some might grumble a little bit. We’ve had a pretty good run on nice weather as of late. The temperatures have been pleasant. There have been some warm days, but all in all it hasn’t been too bad.

The only down side of the good weather that we have been experiencing is the lack of rain. It has caused the lawns to take on a nice brown shade.

I listened to a garden and lawn expert the other day say that often times we think that our lawns are dead. This isn’t the case, he explained. The lawn is merely dormant. With the lack of rain that we’ve experience over the past few weeks, lawns go into a dormancy faze. Grasses have the ability to go dormant for varying lengths of time depending on genetics, health of the grass, and sometimes the strength of the root system.

“Not too worry,” was the explanation. “All it needs is a little water.”

That got me thinking a lot about the ritual of the summer season in the church and the very real possibility that many of us have gone dormant spiritually. Often times we take breaks in the summer, we fall away from our spiritual disciplines, and we find the latest and greatest excuse as to why we didn’t come to worship.

When we go through those seasons, we tend to go into a spiritual dormancy. Everything is going really well on the outside. It’s sunny and warm. But in reality, we are not getting the things that can sustain us and so we turn brown and brittle.

You can make a good case that all is not lost. The psalmist writes that those who plant themselves by streams of water will prosper and bear fruit (Psalm 1). If you have good genetics, a good root system, and you are relatively healthy – all you need is a little water.

Jesus once said, “If anyone is thirsty, let them come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within them (John 7:37b-38).”

Are you in a spiritual dormancy? If you are, maybe all you need to do is reconnect and reestablish your relationship with Christ. Are you thirsty? Maybe all it will take is a tall drink of the water that will bring streams of living water from within you.

Now is a great time to come out of that dormancy. Fall programs are beginning and ministries in churches are coming back to life. Tap into something, it won’t take long for you to brighten up.

Today, they are predicting rain. I hope that we get a lot of it! And I hope that you get drenched.

Please pray for me, and know that I am praying for you.
Greg

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Greg, why haven't you talked about growing a parking lot?
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