Week 2, Day 11 - Leaving Things Better

"God has chosen to make known...the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me." Colossians 1: 27-29

REFLECT

This will be the first summer in a very long time when I will not be making my annual trip to the wilds of Northern Minnesota to go wilderness canoeing in my beloved Boundary Waters Canoe Area. The thought brings much sadness. I will truly miss the solitude and reverence I experience in the wilderness. Over the years of being in the BWCA I've learned an ethic that has helped me in my journey though life. That ethic is to "always leave things better than when you found it". It's the idea of leave no trace when you're in a pristine wilderness area wherever that might be. Unfortunately not everyone practices that ethic. There have been many times when we have hauled other people's trash out of the wilderness for proper disposal. That being said, as conscientious as we are, scares, are still left on the landscape after a camping experience. Grass is trampled, available kindling for a fire is gathered from around the site. One can still see that someone has been there. But we try our best to leave things better than when we found it.

It goes against human nature to leave things better then you found them. The world is full of chaos. Things fall apart. Lives deteriorate. But the regenerative power of God is never far away. We can't lose hope that things can get better.

The Apostle Paul wanted to make a difference. He was committed to leaving the world better than it was before he began making disciples for Jesus. He believed proclamation was at the heart of it all. "We proclaim (Christ), admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ." That's an incredibly high ambition. How can anyone hope to make such a difference in other people's lives that they can "present" someone else perfect? Of course, none of us can. If you're a parent you'd love to raise perfect kids (and they of course would like you to be perfect, too). We'd all like to make the people in our lives get along all the time, mature into perfect character, praise us for making such a difference in their lives. But "perfect" doesn't mean flawless - it means complete. Paul knew that the work he was doing to help people entrust their lives to Christ was putting them in the spiritual position of having everything essential that they need in life: the "glorious riches" of Christ and the "hope of glory" that comes through Christ.

We leave the world a better place when we know what is true, what we stand for, and proclaim those truths ("the riches of Christ") out of a pure motive of love for others. It is not easy. Proclamation is steady "admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom," and sometimes it is a struggle. Thanks be to God that the energy for the struggle comes from the Holy Spirit who "powerfully works" in us.

MAKE IT REAL

Make a commitment today to serve in our community within the next month. Things like: painting at the downtown shelter, or picking up trash along the Boise River; doing spring clean up for an elderly person. Make a difference by leaving things better than before.

Day 12