Your Basket is Leaking
My pastor mentor used to always talk about having a "leaky seed basket." He would say that everywhere we go, we should be dropping seeds of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. My understanding of this concept was limited to the idea that seed that is dropped on soil that is ready will be received, but seed that is dropped on soil that is not ready will be rejected. Recently, my understanding of this has been dramatically altered.
A week ago, we received a phone call that our home, which is currently under contract for sale, had a pipe burst in it and there was extensive water damage. The water had run for several days; a slow and steady stream of water had permeated the ceiling, then ran down the walls to the floors of the main level. After it had saturated that floor, it began to drip into the basement of the home, until all the carpets in the basement were completely soaked. One single pipe, with an unregulated flow of water, managed to get not only a small portion of the house wet, but ended up soaking a good part of the home.
The tendency would be to look at a story like that and see it for the damage that has occurred, and while that is a definite reality we are having to deal with, what occurred to me was just the opposite. I realized that this was exactly what happens on a spiritual scale when we make much of Jesus everywhere we go. In James' letter, he talks about being faithful and obedient to God in all that we do. He encourages the listener to be obedient to the perfect law, which is summed up in the command to love God and love others. He closes chapter 1 by saying that our responsibility is to care for those in need and to refuse to let the world corrupt us.
Sadly, just the opposite has been allowed to happen in our world. Instead of followers of Jesus Christ being unregulated sources of righteousness, the world has be exposed to an unregulated flow of evil, corruption, sin, and unrighteousness. The world has been corrupted and it is working to corrupt us. So, I pose the question: what happens if we begin to flow in an unregulated manner with all that James is talking about? What happens if we begin to not just listen, but to begin doing what we talk about in our weekly gatherings? What if we were to look intently into the perfect law of God and be obedient to it? What would happen if our leaky seed basket was more than just a leak? What if it was an unregulated flow of Jesus everywhere we went?
Many talk about changing their world. We have decided that this is done through political candidates and agendas. We have decided that this is accomplished through bigger and better programs and ministries. We have decided that this is accomplished through those who lead us in the church. My response to this is that the answer lies in each one of us become unregulated and unashamed followers of Jesus Christ who declare Him everywhere that we go.
Pray with your family at the Wendy's dining table. Pick up the guy who you see walking home each day and tell him that Jesus loves him and so do you. Pray with your kids each night before they go to bed. When you experience the blessings of God in your life, declare it from the rooftops that it's because of Jesus you are where you are today. Get as excited about what Jesus has done for you as you do for your team at this year's Super Bowl. Next time you experience a victory in life, pause and give God the glory and let everyone around you know that it's Jesus in you that makes you victorious.
Make much of Jesus and let your basket leak all over the place. We can make a difference.
