'Kudzu' is (should be) like Christianity July 2008
'Kudzu' is (should be) like Christianity
The Great Commission
During the Ladies Bible Study this week we began to speak of Kudzu and its entrance into the U.S. Some of my facts were not exactly correct so let me inform you for I've done some more extensive research since then.
That said, I began to compare Kudzu to Christians or with the way Christians should be. We have been given marching orders to go into all the world... On a radio interview with a man who became a Christian following having been told by someone that Jesus loves him I was intrigued by his openness of acceptance of the literal reality of God's Word. After this statement was said to him, at which time he'd never even heard of Jesus, he began to read the Bible and as a result asked Jesus into his heart. He was so excited to find the passion and drive these Christians he read about possessed that he began to attend a church and was shocked to find that the Christians he'd read about in the Bible were nowhere to be found in the church. He was so excited about the passion and drive to fulfill the Great Commission in the lives of the people he'd read about but couldn't find it in the pews. Am I guilty of that same thing when someone who is truly looking for Jesus in the pew arrives?
That's where, I believe, the Kudzu comes in. We should be those men, women, children with passion and drive to fulfill the call of God on our lives. That passion and drive should be so rampantly spread wherever we go and whatever we do that we become like that Kudzu that we see on hillsides, on the sides of the road, etc. One of the attributes of Kudzu is that it can thrive in many climates and adapts itself to its surroundings while still standing out in a crowd.
One of the sources I found while searching the internet states that scientists say Kudzu, one of America's most invasive plants, is also a potential for obtaining bio-fuel. What a find at this time! This plant can grow more than 6 1/2 feet a week. Shouldn't we, as Christians, grow at that rate of speed, too, if we apply ourselves to the nutrients of God's Word? In the research it has been determined that about 1/3 of Kudzu plants would be harvest-able to supply bio-ethanol. I think we Christians can do better but only when we apply ourselves and encourage others around us to do the same. We, Christians, should have a 100% harvest-able rate.
In my research, I didn't find much that was positive about the Kudzu vine. Most want to eradicate it from its places of existence. Most have tried everything they could think of but to no avail. It may lie dormant for a bit of time but then it takes root and begins again to spread like crazy. Do we really do that or do we just allow the voices, cares, opposition of the world to completely choke our witness out?
One of the places I worked had an eyesore of a hill that was also problematic of eroding. The Kudzu vine covering that hill was truly extremely beautiful. It never had to be tended, it grew over all of the hill and stopped at the stone, blacktop and concrete that surrounded it. It is a great asset for the business it shines for. Shouldn't we be like that Kudzu hill? I think so!
In Ecclesiastes 9:10a we are admonished that Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might,... Often I'm guilty of NOT doing what I do with all my might and then God convicts me of my lack of commitment. As I've said early in the year, commitment is something that is of great priority in my heart and my decision has been to be more proactive in my commitment to the things the Lord has called me to do. I know that there will always be areas that I have to focus on and with God's help I will overcome any obstacles that hinder. I also know and am persuaded that nothing can separate me from God's love that is in Christ Jesus my Lord as stated in Romans 8:39. Also that promise is not just for me but for everyone. Will you apply it to your life also? I pray so. As I've been thinking about this writing I've thought so much about the Scripture passage in Deuteronomy 6:6-9 where we're admonished to impress them (God's commandments or His Word) on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates. This is the way I've been thinking of Kudzu, it gets everywhere as God's Word should get everywhere we are at all times.
May the Lord richly bless you in all you do and lead you into the things He has planned for you. I pray that as you delight yourself in Him then He will place his richest desires in your heart and you will then know how to wait on Him as an attentive 'waiter' stands ready to wait on his special dinner guest constantly watching to see if He needs anything. I believe this is the 'wait' that 'wait on the Lord' means. I DO NOT believe that 'wait on the Lord' means sit down and don't do anything else until God speaks to you in an audible voice and tells you what to do next. As a Christian, some of the things we are to do are spelled out and some of the things are learned as the moment arrives. We have need of 'waiting' on the Lord. There may be need of a 'bottle of water' or a full 'five course meal' or maybe just a 'delightful dessert' or 'refreshing drink'. We just need to be attentive to the leading of the Holy Spirit to know what need is present.
Since Bro. Carl issued the challenge at the first part of the year to find out what God is calling us to do I've been much more aware of the things I do. I pray that God will stir your heart to find out what He desires for you at this moment in time.
In His Service,
Jennie
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