Pastor's Word for September 2020

I'm looking at the weeds in our backyard as I'm typing this. At one point Kelly and I discussed the possibility of turning our backyard into a Japanese garden with sand and stuff. I don't know exactly what the garden would consist of, but I can tell you it would be better than our scruffy lawn. Maybe planting a Japanese maple tree would be a start. We planted one in the lawn of our home in Pennsylvania. It was small and red and beautiful.

As it stands now, we have a good supply of weeds to contend with. In some places the weeds that we have might be considered a "good" plant. I suppose it depends upon your perspective. Dandelions are quite pretty when you think about it. Our neighbors would vehemently disagree with this, however.

I suppose in much of life our perspective matters a great deal. Being flexible or seeing a different perspective is often helpful, too. I can get locked into one way of thinking and get myself into feeling low or angry or anxious, or well, you name it. Here is an example: A teacher gives her students a challenging project. Some of them relish the challenge and others may cower or be afraid of doing it because of the possibility that they may fail. Or they just don't like the project.

COVID-19 brought challenges and new opportunities. Which do we focus on? Our humanness causes us to reflect on both. But which perspective do we take to heart?

Jesus called his disciples. None of them would have made it with other rabbis. Well, the disciples wouldn't have even tried to change their profession to something other than their family business. Yet, they were Jesus' disciples. Jesus picked them because of who they were and whose they were. He had a different perspective on discipleship than the other rabbis in town. That was a good thing!

May our perspectives reflect Christ in our lives.

Peace,
Pastor Brent