Balance Beam

Vines: Good - Not So Good

Summer heat is always tough on plants, grass, shrubs & trees. But as you can tell the plant on the left has received a bit more care and a little more water. The one on the right...well it has seen better days and now resides in the garbage. But both got me to thinking about our spiritual lives. Didn't Jesus say I am the Vine and we are the branches and apart from Him we can do nothing? Yes, I believe He did. Jesus Christ is the life blood to our lives just as water and good soil are to flowers. We too need to be ready to receive this new life in Christ by preparing the soil in our hearts. How do we do that? We spend significant time in the Bible. We take prayer seriously and is more than a "to-do-list" or "our request sheet." We open our lives to be available to serve others. Why? Because that leads to soft soil. What happens to water when the soil is hard and unresponsive to a good soaking? Yep...it just rolls off and thus flowers die. God will continue to send His blessings, His instruction and His guidance but if our spiritual soil is not soft...it will just roll right out of our lives. So let's be the kind of soil that God can soak into us His grace and peace.

Oh by the way: that requires a daily soaking so let's be prepared daily to receive all that God has for us!