Godgrown

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  Mark 12:41 pm on November 28, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

  A New Way to Be Human 

  Ever wonder what would happen if the whole world took God’s pleadings for his creation seriously? And by ‘whole world’ I don’t just mean humans.  I’m talking about the entire universe. What would happen if each of us saw our relationship with our Creator as something that had holistic implications for the rest of our lives, and how we interact with our surroundings.  Attuning to the Divine, listening and following the LORD GOD, what would it change about… how you treat your kids, which groceries you’d buy, what clothes you’d wear, how you’d pay your taxes, your views on immigration, your views on war and the  military, the federal deficit, your personal deficit, your competition at work, your marriage, what you do for fun, and who you believe you truly are…

  …to say it another way – what if your pursuit of God actually mattered in EVERYTHING else about your life?

  Isaiah, using prophetic imagination, paints a picture of an entire universe investing in the alternative Way – the Way of knowing and listening to God:

  6 In that day the wolf and the lamb will live together;

  the leopard will lie down with the baby goat.

  The calf and the yearling will be safe with the lion,

  and a little child will lead them all.

  7 The cow will graze near the bear.

  The cub and the calf will lie down together.

  The lion will eat hay like a cow.

  8 The baby will play safely near the hole of a cobra.

  Yes, a little child will put its hand in a nest of deadly snakes without harm.

  9 Nothing will hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain,

  for as the waters fill the sea,

  so the earth will be filled with people who know the Lord. (emphasis mine)

  What will prompt this drastic change in today’s world, obsessed with blood-lust and savage behavior?  It is the coming of a new kind of King, and a new kind of Kingdom.  A fresh expression of humanity – a new way to be human.  There seems to be some sort of syncronicity between people and God, and between animals and all Creation… fear and competition cease, ancient foes become intimate friends…

  What if North Korea and America took these verses seriously?  What if oil companies took this image seriously?  What if I took this seriously??? We can only pray that this day comes sooner rather than later.

  
   

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  Mark 5:42 pm on May 25, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

  Strawberry Revolutions 

  The Gospel is a strawberry plant.

  Plants are generally grown from seed, or by transplant.  We’ve got a nice healthy basil in our kitchen window, but it was bought full-grown at Home Depot and we started enjoying it immediately.  It fills our little ceramic pot and our Italian dinners are made even more special when we simply pluck a leaf or two off to enjoy with pasta.

  But strawberry plants are different.

  They don’t generally grow from seed, or through transplant – though it can happen.  That might be how a strawberry field begins, but it propagates naturally with “runners.”

  Strawberry plant runners are like little arms of the plant that shoot out from its base, and find a nice healthy spot of soil about 6 inches away from the original plant.  There may be 4-8 runners coming off of every plant.  The interesting thing about these runners is that they are not extensions of the plant, or branches off the plant, but a brand new plant! Even if you were to cut off a runner, if it successfully embedded itself in some good soil, it would start a new strawberry plant and begin spreading all over the place.

  

  Christians fear that their mission work, their sharing of the Gospel, has to be bought at a Home Depot of sorts.  They spend all their resources in evangelism on getting their friends to “come to church” so that the moving church service will convince them to become a Christian too.  This is like buying your basil at Home Depot. Nothing wrong with it – basil tastes great on pasta!

  But basil will never cover the earth on its own…only strawberries, mustard, and maybe kudzu can.

  Sharing the Gospel like a strawberry plant means putting out feelers into your local context (don’t try stretching too far at first!) and planting the full Gospel in the soil all around you.  You are never too far from your mission field, and you’ve got it in you to plant not just seeds, but whole new plants in God’s garden. Where are your feelers now?  Where are your church’s feelers planting themselves to make new churches?

  Plant strawberries – don’t buy basil.

  

  Godgrown » Blog Archive » The Insidious Infection of Love, and Rusty Wimberly are discussing. Toggle Comments

   
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    Rusty Wimberly 8:11 am on May 28, 2010 Permalink

    very interesting! Isn’t it great how God speaks to us, declaring his purposes and plans through nature? This is a great illustration and not to mention good explanation about how to plant strawberries! I like the vine illustration Jesus uses better though….its a lot more wild, un-predictable and puts a tight grip around its everything it comes into contact with. lol

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  Mark 9:58 am on April 18, 2010 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Eckhart Park   

  …Only Family Can 

  I spent yesterday morning doing some work out in our sunny neighborhood park, pulling weeds and weeding-out trash from blossoming bushes and flowers.  There was quite a crew there yesterday too – some folk coming from the far-corners of the city to help out (about a dozen from a global consulting group showed up for “Earth Day.”)

  I’ve been given a section of the park with a few patch-gardens!  This has been a dream of mine for quite awhile, both to do some real-deal urban gardening, and to break into the neighborhood’s action group (volunteering gardeners, park council, etc).  There are more plants than I can give names to, or certainly more than I can spell.  There was even a secret stash of mushrooms hiding beneath a bale of hay over in one corner of my garden.  It wasn’t until THIS year that I finally saw my first flowers bloom from seed.  I planted some bulbs last fall and to see tulips popping up this past week has been tremendous.

  Being a part of such a tangible day of transformation in my own neighborhood reminds me a bit about why we’re here – we’re here to see vibrant families of Jesus grown in every people group in Chicago!

  Vibrant families centered on Christ is not only critical for individuals living the abundant life, but whole cities are desperate for it too.  No city law can make its citizens love each other – only family can.  No religious creed can reconcile broken marriages, or end homelessness – only family can.  No gang can decrease violence or increase High School graduation rates – only family can.

  Watching folks come together for park transformation pointed me back to this truth – that our goal is to see vibrant families of Jesus in close reach of every person in Chicago — but the OUTCOME of that goal is personal and city-wide transformation.