Use it or Lose it!

Take a look at this group. They look pretty much like any other group and they certainly are not more charactistically unique than other groups. A diverse crowd - unified under one theme. They happen to be homeschoolers.

When widely varying individuals come together (the times, places, and frequency is unimportant) and when varying gifts, abilities, and skills are utilized the group is referred to as living. When a group (or what some are buzz-wording as community) is functioning as a living community it’s wonderful! Seeing unity in action and seeing progress made is the nuts and bolts of a living community. It is the groundwork for the perfect soil for life to touch life! (Note: this group is living!)

For the last few weeks the antitheses if this has been on my mind. Have you ever been part of a lifeless community?  If you could place it in nature it would be comparable to a bog— sludge, overgrown, heavy, stagnant, and certain aspects of it repulsive. This happens when the bog overtakes, leaving little or no outlet.

This is also what happens in a community where people skills and abilities are not utilized. When the majority are still (whether by choice or default) and taking in or soaking up are the norm and outlet is the exception, the group becomes bog-like. Life cycles cease to be steady—the true sense of community eventually ceases to exist. And, when you don’t use it, you loose it. Community is Retired!

Mind you, there are seasons for retirement, rest homes, and hospitals. But for most, life needs to keep moving, skills utilized, and progress made.

I would say this is especially true in any Christian community. It should function like a pumping heart, steady and healthy. It should be duplicating life. Of course, as a Christian community we have a higher reason and motivation for such a community, but retirement in this sense should be one of our greatest concerns.

Could my communities be labeled, Retirement Baptist Church, Retirement Academy, Retirement Readers Group, Retirement Writers Club, or Retirement …fill in the blanks? What part am I carrying out to see that the groups in my life are not retired? These are questions I’m asking because I’m certainly not ready to lose it!

Bog-bound

What is one to do if stuck in the middle of a proverbial bog. We know quite certainly there are divinely appointed times. I’m reminded recently of some friends who are able and willing but due to circumstances are unable to give their skills and abilities. This is certainly a painful place for them to be. It’s also painful watching them have to wait out their circumstances.

One such young boy expressed this burden,

What can I give Him, as poor as I am?

If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb.

If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part.

But what can I give Him? Give Him my heart.

There are times in our lives when we can insert our own circumstances, “What can I give Him, as …….. as I am?

He answers the question, “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8).

What is most important to him are the things of the heart. Perhaps, during these times of waiting, He asks of us greater usage, one of the heart.

So, note to self, If I’ve got it, and God allows, use it! If for some reason I’m unable to give it “all I’ve got”, give Him my heart and He’ll get the greater glory!