29 August 2007 Devotion for Today "Created to Grow" Acts 6:7

29 August 2007  Devotion for Today  “Created to Grow”  Acts 6:7

           

            The other day I stumbled upon a small tree planted in a flower pot which was given to the dads at church on Father’s Day in 2004.  That was over three years ago, I thought.  The tree is still living, inside that pot which I have never taken the time to plant because I would get busy and forget.  It sits there beside the back porch, reminding me to plant it, reaching out its limbs over the back steps almost as if to say, “Please plant me!”  Its roots have grown into the soil through the plastic pot.  I rationalize that I just might kill it if I should try to remove it.  Perhaps the tree is better off where it is.  But if it does grow there, I think, it could become a nuisance later on and may have to be cut down to keep from interfering with the house.   Why don’t I just throw it away?   It cost money and it would look beautiful if proper time would be taken to nurture it.  It really wouldn’t require a whole lot of attention.  Just did a hole, stake it up, and leave it.  What could be so hard about that?

           

            As I reflect upon that small pot-bound pin oak this morning, I am reminded how all of us can fall into that same predicament as people who, like the pin oak, are created for growth.  We are contained in many different types of pots, and those pots are called circumstances- circumstances that we did not have much to do with but seldom find the courage to grow out of them to enlarge ourselves or our world.  As confining as the pot might be, it becomes comfortable and life outside the pot becomes too frightening and overwhelming to conceive.  I have talked to many who do not advance in their careers they say “because they just don’t want the hassel,” when really they are frightened by the prospect of more responsibility.  Other hold back on educational opportunities because they fear failure in the classroom.  “Besides,” admitted one, “I am almost fifty- it wouldn’t be worth it to get an education now!”  Yes, but what would be worse- competing in the classroom at age 50 with students who are old enough to be your children, or competing in the workforce with those same students and find yourself out of a job because your employer can’t afford to keep you on anymore?

           

            Circumstances can appear comfortable, but they eventually become the caskets in which most of us are buried unless we look to God to help us move beyond them. 

 

In Acts 6:7 it tells us “So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.”  Why did this happen?  Earlier in the chapter, however, the church stopped growing and started complaining.   The church grew rapidly in the early years but then leveled off in a pot or circumstances of trying to catch its breath long enough to absorb the truths that the apostles had been teaching them.  They had taught them to take care of one another; especially the unfortunate, the widows and orphans.  But the Greek widows were being left out of the food distribution.  A great deal of murmuring and complaining started to surface.  It required the apostles to stop what they were doing, fix the problem, appoint some men to address the need, and continue preaching and teaching the Word of God.

This might not be the best Biblical example I could give, but still the point is made.  Even churches can become root-bound by their own circumstances.  Look at your own circumstances today and see what pots need to be broken and thrown away.  What appears to be security to you may also be a cauldron of despair unless you look for a bigger pot to dwell in.  Ask God to give you guidance and direction in how to move out of the pot that you are in, and utilize the Holy Spirit to nurture you in the process.  Liberate yourself from your root-boundedness today.

 

Have a blessed day!

 

 

 

Rev. Jeffery C. Russell
Salem Baptist Church
Elizabeth City, NC
jefferyrussell@embarqmail.com

jcrussell@liberty.edu

 

Church website:   http://25621.lifewaylink.com
Devotion Archives: http://www.msnusers.com/DevotionforToday