Saturday, July 31, 2010

BRACE ROOTS

Brace roots.
I had never heard of them until our neighbor, a lifelong farmer, pointed them out to us. The corn surrounding us stands over 7 ft tall. Each skinny stalk with its long green leaves, flowing, yellow-white silk, and growing ear of corn barely bends in strong winds.
If you look at the bottom of each stalk, its main root is surrounded by brace roots that sprout out from the main stalk, lending added strength to the maize against toppling, even as the ears grow and easily outweigh the stalks.
Just as Jesus is the source root (Isaiah 53:2), so we in Christ serve as brace roots for one another. As siblings in Christ, the Word tells us to be devoted to one another, honor one another, love one another, accept one another, serve one another, forgive one another, encourage one another...well, you get the picture. (See the epistles of Paul for a complete listing.)
Our life comes from Him who is the Life Source. We can be glad for those brace roots too.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

MUFFINS & MORE

You've all been waiting with baited breath to learn the final outcome of the half-baked muffins. Well, they might have made great hockey pucks. Not fit for man nor beast, they found their way to some landfill. Dare I make the quantum leap to the salt parable? Jesus said His followers are to be salt in the world. At its best salt acts as a preservative, a flavor enhancer, or a spoilage retardant. Salt without saltiness is "good neither for the soil nor for fertilizer" (Luke 14:35 NLT). The KJV reads a bit more straightforward: "It is neither fit for the land, nor yet for the dunghill." I.E., it's even useless in the landfill. Whether I'm sitting in the middle of well-fertilized corn that's as tall as LeBron James (which I am with fields of corn surrounding us on three sides), or driving past the Swanton water treatment plant (which SMELLS like a dunghill), I want to be good salt in my world. Pass the salt, please.