January 1, 2024
Beloved of God,
As we transition from one year to the next, we want to ascend the steps the past has laid for us to climb; but we also want to refrain from dragging up behind us unnecessary burdens from the past that would slow our ascent.
We want to apply timeless wisdom that precedes the present; but we also want to avail of new understanding and insights, particularly those that can enlighten us about how to fulfill our mission in a much-changed world.
We want to dig out the channels to facilitate the free flow of still effective tradition; but we also want to avoid obstructing the free flow of helpful innovation.
We may hope to find the right balance if we study the challenges before us with vigorous fair-
mindedness, run ideas past one another with openness to both questions and perspectives never before considered, and most of all pray and submit all our plans and programs to the sovereign will of God.
After all, our accomplishing our purposes matters more to God than it does to us, and God alone knows how best to do so.
In light of the fact that for God nothing is impossible, we just need to repent of presuming we know what is and what is not possible!
In his book Teaching the Elephant to Dance, Joseph Belasco describes how trainers teach young
elephants to stay in place by shackling them with long heavy chains to deeply embedded stakes. As the powerful creatures grow bigger and mightier, it never occurs to them to wander off – even though they’ve developed more than enough strength to pull the stakes out of the ground and walk away. Their confinement is completely due to their conditioning. Even with the stakes and chains removed and nothing but the small metal “bracelet” around one leg, they remain within the area defined by the length of the chains to which they were once attached. Though they could head out anytime anywhere, they never think to venture beyond the boundaries that they believe are hard and fast.
Like elephants, many people and communities are bound by earlier conditioned restraints. Perhaps thinking “This is the way things have to be done” or just “We have always done things this way”, they needlessly limit their freedom, restrict progress and miss out on wonderful opportunities and adventures.
In the last worship service of last year, we considered God’s word to His people in Isaiah 43:19a,
saying, “I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?”
To be submitted to God’s rule is to be open and receptive to His surprises. It is to turn our eyes in the directions to which He points our gaze, and to perceive possibilities of service and witness we had not before envisioned. It is to grow free of false limitations and enter a bigger world of more joyful and fruitful ministry than any we had before considered.
Let us in 2024 following our loving Lord wherever He wants to lead us!
Warmly in Christ,
Rob & Adele
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