FOLLOWING THE STRAIGHT WAY

Photo credit: Ralph Felzer

FOLLOWING THE STRAIGHT WAY

Some of the most meaningful lessons come simply from paying attention to our everyday lives.  For example, Sandy and I have a side lot that runs about 50-60 yards from the street to the woods.  From spring to fall I do what most of the rest of you do–cut the grass!  But unlike many of my neighbors, I still just use a push mower to cut it.  Now, if you know me at all, you know that I want my rows to be straight, not curvy and meandering, and I don't want there to be patches that get missed, however small.  And I've learned over the years that the best way to do that is not to focus real hard or intensely at the previous line or path or at the grass right in front of the mower.  The absolute most reliable way to mow a straight line is to lift your eyes from the mower and the patch of grass right in front of you to the spot you're aiming for at the end of the row, 50 yards off in the distance.  When you set your sights there and simply walk the mower toward it, you will find yourself mowing a much straighter line than you would if you kept your eyes right in front of you–when you do that, by the time you get to the end and turn around, you will usually find that you have wandered from the straight path.

Pretty simple stuff, but like I said, there's a really meaningful lesson in that:

THE WAY TO KEEP TO THE STRAIGHT PATH 

IS TO SET YOUR SIGHTS ON THE GOAL AHEAD 

RATHER THAN ON EVERY INDIVIDUAL STEP YOU TAKE

This is just one of the little "rules" I try to live my life by.  It's part of my Rule of Life.

Do you know what a Rule of Life is?  It's a personal commitment to live your life in a particular way, by a set of principles, practices, guidelines and rhythms that help you walk with Jesus and live His Kingdom life to the full.  And our purpose in this is to remind ourselves daily that we don't so much want to accomplish great things, as we want to become great people.  You see, setting your mind and heart on doing great things is like focusing your eyes on the grass in front of the mower.  Directing the desires of your heart to the kingdom of God is like focusing on the end of the row off in the distance.  

What kind of man or woman do you want to become?  Most of us have been to a funeral at one time or another.  Well, one day, if Jesus doesn't return in the meantime, you yourself will be the guest of honor at a funeral.  But notice how few of the accolades poured out in those remembrances have anything whatsoever to do with the person's accomplishments–they almost always center around qualities of character, what kind of person the deceased was.  In fact, I would go so far as to say that the greatest accomplishments can only be achieved by people of shining character.  

What sort of path are you on today?  Regardless, know that however far down the road you happen to be, who you are and the progress you've made are due more to the blessings you have received by grace than to the deeds you have accomplished by effort.  And yet none of us has yet reached the end of our row!  So the question becomes:  How do we become, and remain, the person we long to be?  How do we live today with tomorrow (10, 20, or 50 years from now) in mind?  How do we continue to live faithfully to the end, and not lose the straight way?

In order to inspire you to adopt your own Rule of Life, I'd like to share with you four brief elements of my own.  And my purpose in doing so is to encourage you to ask this one question of yourself:  What am I aiming for–really?

But know this at the outset:  You can't do this by merely writing words down on paper.  You also can't do it alone.  And you can't do it by focusing on yourself.  You cannot become the man or woman you sincerely want to be by focusing solely on who you are and what you're doing.  You have to commit yourself to fellowship and community, and you need to establish principles and guidelines that will direct your steps.  You set your sights on the deep and beautiful woods far down the path before you, but you still need to put gas in the mower and one foot in front of the other.  Forget focusing on the gas and the step-by-step, and never lose sight of your vision.  Forget whether or not you're choosing the right career or the right spouse or the right home or even the right city to live in.  When you focus on the end of your path, all your steps will follow.  Jesus Himself said the same, but sometimes everyday life gets in the way of how we read our Bibles.  Jesus said: "Seek first the kingdom of God, and all these things will be added to you" (Mt. 6:33).

With all that said, I've already shared with you the first plank in my own Rule: 

MOW THE LAWN.  A more familiar way of saying it is: Begin with the end in mind–keep a laser-focus on your long-term goal.  Seek first the Kingdom of God and the rest will fall into place according to HIS doing, not your own. 

TURN AROUND!  I learned back in my photography days how important it is to every now and then turn around to see where I'd been.  Stop.  Turn around.  Get a different angle or perspective. Keep Sabbath.  Rest.  Retreat.

IT'S EASIER TO KEEP UP THAN IT IS TO CATCH UP.  Once many years ago I was on a personal retreat in a house with several other retreatants.  We had no conversation or personal contact, but we all shared a common kitchen.  And one of the rules of the house was:  After preparing a meal, clean up after yourself.  It sounds easy, but it was a fairly novel experience for a single guy like myself.  I was amazed at how fast and easy it was to keep up, so when I went back home I put this little rule into practice.  And trust me, it applies to far more of life than just doing dishes!

ROOTS AND FRUIT.  If you measure success by GOING PLACES, nothing really fails quite like a tree.  In all likelihood, a tree will spend its entire life in just one small, narrowly confined place.  Now, a tree's first job is to put down roots, and to put them down as deeply as it can.  This way, no matter how fierce the storms that come, they'll remain grounded and steadfast.  But notice, too, that only when a tree's roots go deep enough can enough water and nutrients get UP TO THE BRANCHES where FRUIT IS BORN.  And the truly wonderful thing about fruit is that the tree doesn't have to try really really hard to make it.  It just puts its roots down, drinks deep, and fruit grows. (Plus, the fruit doesn't really benefit the tree itself at all, just those who pass by.)  

For us, putting our roots down deep means spending time with Jesus in the Word.  There's an old story about a priest who notices an old peasant man sitting for hours in a church.  When the priest asks what he's doing, he says, "I look at Him and He looks at me, and we are happy."  He is–Jesus is–the deep, beautiful wood at the end of our lawn.  When we focus on Him and not our own dreams and visions of greatness, we will find that we have somehow, wondrously, mysteriously, gloriously become like Him, like Jesus.

To read the Word and be guided by the Word and to make the Word–Jesus–our measure for daily life and relating and decision-making is the secret of a well-ordered life.  But it won't happen accidentally.  It will only happen on purpose.  THEN, with your heart and mind attentive to God's presence in you and His direction for you, go out and JUST LIVE YOUR LIFE.  Just like a tree, you put down your roots, you go as deep as you can, and in the living your life, fruit shows up!  Get your eyes off of yourself and onto the people around you, with all of their needs, concerns, worries, and fears and do your best to make a difference right where you live.  Do all this, and one day you will find yourself to have become the person you aimed to become.  Without ever really giving a single thought to it.

Okay, okay, since you asked, let me give you a bonus lesson!  

TEND YOUR GARDEN.  We are, every one of us, stewards, managers of the grace that has been gifted to us.  In all of our accomplishments, however small and simple, we don't celebrate ourselves as much as we do the One who has gifted us because it's Him at work IN us.  I love Psalm 74:12 : "God has from of old been working salvation in the earth."  And He continues that work in you even today.  "Behold," God says through the prophet Isaiah, "Behold, I am doing a new thing."  In this very moment, you have the privilege of being God's new thing, of being a man or woman who bears the favor of God and in whom He has placed a great trust.  (Your life, your very existence, has been entrusted to you–did you not know?)

How will you tend, care for, manage this great treasure you have been given?  But don't cower in fear over what to do if your best plans and efforts fail or don't turn out the way you wanted them to or hoped they would.  (Trust me, if you haven't found out yet, they won't!)   I used to tell my students when they had big decisions to make:  Pray as fervently as you know how.  Spend time poring over His Word, digging and reflecting and studying.  Talk to people of God that you know and trust, asking for their wisdom and direction.  And then act boldly and live bravely!  Because if you do these things, you can never go far off the straight way.  Your paths will always be paths of grace and mercy, and you will always be a blessing to those you know and love and serve.  And this, coupled with your own dedication & faithfulness will make you a man or woman of stature and influence–even though that was never what you were seeking–because your sights were set on the Kingdom of God and the glory of Jesus. 

So I leave you again with this question:  What will you do with what you have been so graciously and undeservedly given?

God has placed each and every one of you here like trees in a garden.  Put your roots down deep.  Grow.  Bear fruit–be a blessing to those who happen to pass by.

"The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace" (Numbers 6:24-26).  

Be encouraged, friend, for God, the Maker of Heaven and Earth, who spoke all worlds into being, is both with you and for you.