This is the view behind our house. It was just the other day when I first noticed this one corn stalk rising above the rest. I don't know if it shot up all at once, or if I had just missed it before, but now I can't NOT notice it when I look out the back window. It's at least a foot taller than the rest of the corn stalks. It's kinda weird... unique... different... I like it.
I suppose - since I am a pastor and all - I should point out the obvious lesson that this is how we all can be. We don't have to 'go along with the crowd'... we can rise above and stand tall and reach for the stars and all that. Which is true. I do believe God's grace is all about empowering us to overcome our struggles and free us from those things that can hold us back.
It also reminds me of a time when I hadn't been a Christian very long. The first pastor I really ever knew was trying to be friends with me, and he seemed intent on showing me that he was no different than I was. What he didn't realize was how discouraging that was to me. Because at that time in my life the last thing I wanted was for my pastor to be just like me. I was looking for hope that I didn't have to be like me anymore; that it was possible to be different; that there actually were people who didn't cave in to temptation, and didn't settle for less, and really believed we could do all things through Christ. Not only did I want to hope pastors weren't like me, but I hoped anyone who had given their life to Christ was different. I wanted to know that Christianity was real and true.
So... I'm glad I saw this cornstalk. Because I need to be reminded of that myself from time to time now. It IS possible to be different. We don't HAVE to be done in by the same old sins time and again. We don't have to go along with the crowd. There IS hope. I know, because I have been transformed through my relationship with Jesus; by the power of the Holy Spirit working in me. Not that I am perfect... and not that I'm better than anybody else... but I am definitely different than I used to be. Thanks to God.
1 comment:
Obviously a malevolent genetic mutation that must be destroyed. :)
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