Corona Devo 3254
Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly... ~Colossians 3:16
My husband has a greenhouse that is attached to the side of our house. Inside the greenhouse doors are plants a plenty. It's warm and humid inside and you can find everything from cucumbers to limes to (even) a pomegranate growing inside the greenhouse. The climate, the daily watering, and the light are conducive and encouraging for growth and potential.
But I noticed today that there was a tendril, a vine, a determined strand of some plant that had grown through the doorhinge and into our garage. This plant had left the ideal atmosphere of the greenhouse and appeared to be thriving out in the wild and not-perfect-conditions of our garage.
It's dark in our garage much of the day, because the door is shut when we are at work and school, and so there is technically and presumably not enough light for this plant to grow and thrive...and yet, it does.
The temperatures within the greenhouse are tropical and moist, just what the plants that are growing in there need to grow and blossom and produce. But the temperatures in the garage don't get as warm, and certainly not as humid, which means that the garage should be less conducive for a vine to grow and expand and travel deeper within the darker and cooler temps of the garage. And yet, the plant that has figured a way out of the easy life, is still thriving in a place that it (theoretically) shouldn't be.
And yet, the plant that has figured a way out of the easy life, is still thriving in a place that it (theoretically) shouldn't be.
Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly... ~Colossians 3:16
Gosh, as soon as I saw the lone vine that had singularly woven its way out of the (light and moist!) greenhouse and into the darker and drier garage, I thought--"That's us, as followers of God in this world!".
It is, isn't it?
The greenhouse was the Garden of Eden. It was literally a warm and lush place where everything grew beautifully and fully, including Adam and Eve in their purest bodily and spiritual form. It was perfect.
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But then came temptation and sin. And then came the fall into temptation and sin.
Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”
(2) And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; (3) but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ”
(4) Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. (5) For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
(6) So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. (7) Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. ~Genesis 3:1-7
And ever since then....ever since, including right now today...we face an uphill battle everyday. This world celebrates feelings, and self, and pleasure, and sin. It all started with Adam and Eve and the serpent, but it has continued every day since in the hearts of men and women.
But if we have encountered Jesus and asked Him into our heart and lives, then we no longer fit in the mold of the world. We are different.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. ~2 Corinthians 5:17
We are that lone vine, winding our way through life and this world...on our way to somewhere perfect, but living each day in conditions that are anything but.
Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: (6) He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindf 6ication like the noonday sun. ~Psalm 37:5-6
One day, (the Bible promises us!) we will be back in the absolute ideal atmosphere of Heaven, where we will thrive in the holy presence of God. But until then, God and His Word (the Bible) encourage and empower us to thrive right here and right now. Out in the wild (world), and in our not-perfect-conditions of our lives.
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. (10) Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. (11) Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. (12) Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. (13) Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
(14) Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. (15) Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. (16) Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. ~Romans 12:9-16
With the difficult people that we encounter...
With the hard situations that we are sometimes forced to sit in, live in, and walk into each day...
Thrive for the Lord today.
I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. (15) I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. (16) They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. (17) Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. ~John 17:14-17
Most people/situations/realities of this (fallen) world are broken and less-than-ideal circumstances for growth and thriving. But with Christ, we have a spark within us and a light that fills us.
Thrive today. Let it shine today. Let's not be afraid to grow into new and uncharted and less-than-conducive areas for Christ today.
“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. (15) Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. (16) In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. ~Matthew 5:14-16
Blessings,
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