It’s Green

I was walking Tuffy, our five year old Cairn Terrier the other day. As we were heading back to our house I was admiring the lawn. It was green and plush looking, like the fairway on a well kept golf course. This is a big change from twenty-five years ago.

When we first moved into our New England neighborhood I was busy working all the time. The condition of the lawn did not mean anything to me. I would cut it or have it cut by our boys when it absolutly needed to be cut. If it was to grow and be green, I figured God would send the rain. What kind of grass was it, you ask. It was green. Sure it was mixed with what most would call good grass and a lot of weeds and clover. From a distance it looked pretty good, when it was first cut. When you got up close, you could see the patches of dirt where nothing was growing and the mixture of various green growing things all bunched together. Never the less, it was green.

In Florida our grass is different. It is course and green during the rainy season. Ant mounds can be found popping up all over the place. New England grass does not survive in that southern climate. In Florida the watering is very expensive and because of the shortages most of the year, it is usually never allowed. To water cost effectively, you must drill a well and water with the brackage, unpotable water you can pump. Some of our neighbors keep their lawns green with this approach. Even though it is green, it is not like the soft and silky grass up north; the kind you can run barefoot through and have it feel soft and cool underfoot. Walking barefoot on Florida grass can be painful, it is so coarse.

Back in Rhode Island, our grass is still green. However, we planted new grass, added a sprinkler system, and have it mowed once a week. From a distance it has never looked better. Up close there are a few weeds here and there, but you really have to look to find them. My wife, Dianne digs the culprits up and plants new grass to fill the space.

Then I began to reflect on how church, the body of Christ, is like our lawn. As you enter many a church on Sunday morning, it looks pretty good. People of all walks of life are together in their Sunday best worshipping God. Like the green lawn, they all look like they belong together. They appear in one accord.

After you belong for a while you notice the crab grass and even some bare patches. Some have come because they want to be a part of the picture, but are not yet willing to give their life over to Him. They are not willing to let go of the control they have or presume to have over their own destiny.

Then there are those that have no intention of converting. They are from the camp of the enemy and have been placed to infect the good seed. Their purpose is to infiltrate, confuse, and to bring temptation to the body of Christ. Their spot will never be green.

Just because people gather with Christians does not make them a Christian. I am reminded of Jesus’ words in Matthew 7-- “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

As we stay in His Word and build our relationship with Him, we will grow. Our nourishment comes from the Lord and not from man. For man can sound good and look good, but be a wolf in sheep’s clothing. We must test all we hear and experience against the Word of God. It is the Truth.

From a distance the body of Christ is like that green lawn. It looks good. Up close, the weeds blend with the grass. When the harvest comes, only the grass will be with Christ.

GPS

We purchased one of those GPS mapping devices for the car. It is actually a computer with a color screen and even a hard disk drive, just in a small package. On the disk are maps of the entire country. An antenna seeks out one of the global positioning satellites (GPS) and the internal software can tell exactly where on planet earth we are located. Knowing our position, it locates the proper map on the hard drive and displays it. All this in a matter of seconds.

As cool as that is, that is not all. We can input the location we want to drive to and the software maps out the best route for us to take depending on our choice of fastest time or shortest route. And then it speaks to us telling us turn by turn what to do as we progress on our route.

Everyone I know has at least one cell phone; some have more than one. What you may not realize is that every cell phone includes a GPS. As long as the cell phone is turned on, its location can be determined by the cell phone company and other agencies. This is why dialing 911 on a cell phone works. The 911 operator can find out exactly where the call came from and dispatch someone to help.

You can even pay for a service to locate your kid’s phones and even see where they are on your PC on a map. Their route displays in real time.

The GPS for our car is so useful, my wife has nicknamed it her buddy. It is the best backseat driver she has ever had. No need to have exact directions anymore. All she needs is an address and her buddy will get her there. If she makes a wrong turn, it corrects her by suggesting she make a legal u-turn. If she does not comply, it simply figures out another route and continues with its task of guiding her to her destination.

As I thought of how useful the GPS is I realized that GPS could stand for God’s Perfect Spirit. When Jesus left this earth He promised to send the Holy Spirit to live in each believer. Paul refers to Him as the Spirit of Christ and He lives within each of us.

He is our comforter and our guide. As we go through this life on earth, He shows us the way. We still make our own choices every day and as we go off the path, He attempts to bring us back. Often we are so wrapped up in doing it our way, we either miss His guidance or ignore Him. He does not give up. Knowing our destiny, He encourages us in another direction.

The Holy Spirit is God’s Perfect Spirit living in us. He is our GPS. Isn’t it time we gave control over to Him and let Him do the work God designated for Him to do in our lives?