How thankful I am for the ladies in my Tuesday morning Bible study. Although I can’t always be faithful in my attendance because of travel and out-of-town commitments, when I’m go, I’m blessed.
We’ve been studying Hebrews this year, and today’s lesson was chapter 12:1-3. I’d been looking forward to this week, because these were Nate’s favorite Scripture verses. This very month they’re being carved in stone on his grave marker as a testimony to Jesus being at the end of life’s race.
The Bible has many race-references, including one I’ve never heard coupled with a running analogy. It’s offered by Jesus himself who uses a farming picture to make his point. He’d just offered someone the opportunity to follow him full time, but the man had deferred, telling Jesus he’d rather head back home and put things in order there first.
Jesus snapped back with this line: “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” His listeners were probably familiar with every farmer’s intention to plow a straight row. If he looked back, his plow would wobble and his furrow would wander. Jesus was highlighting the importance of purposefully moving forward without adding the confusion and delay of looking back… exactly as when running a race.
Today at Bible study, as we talked about persevering through life, plowing forward without getting bogged down in the past, we were each given a drawing of a lush maple tree. Near the roots were written the names of those mentioned in Hebrews 11, the Faith Hall of Fame. Those champions are the foundational examples of Scripture, and in Hebrews 12 they’re included in the “cloud of witnesses” cheering us on as we run our races or plow our rows.
Next to the maple tree were other blanks meant for us to fill as we thought about who else might be in our “cheering section.” Near the trunk we were encouraged to identify people of Christian influence in our childhood. As we edged up the branches, we wrote more recent influences, ending at the top with current “cheerleaders”, a thought-provoking process.
The remainder of our time was spent listening to stories of faith from among us, as women shared from their pasts. All of us took our hands from the plows so as not to wobble the furrows as we listened. What we saw behind us was God’s persistent call through neighbors, teachers, relatives, radio programs, funerals and friends as he faithfully placed his witnesses in our lives.
Every woman put people on her tree who may never have known of their powerful Christian influence on a child, a teen, a young adult. But the best part was realizing God had put each one in place to urge us toward himself and his kingdom at the end of our race or furrow.
As for my new women farmer-friends, we’ll just keep plowing through life together.
“Jesus replied, ‘No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God’.” (Luke 9:62)
Tonight, I am thinking about your Mom, who was one who had a great influence on my teen life. I still am influenced by her comments,to me,on how I should “raise” my kids and grandkids.
Thanks, Evelyn!
What a great reminder. Thinking of your folks who had the patience of Job with senior high school kids and loved us to the Lord. Also different Moody students who were our teachers and went on to be missionaries and family friends, but challenged us in our walk. What a great idea to write down today on this day when we are snowed in, to think back while pressing forward.
Hi Margaret,
Great post as always. I thought I might be seeing pictures of high snow drifts accompanied by spiritual insights gleaned from staring at them all day out the window! Maybe that will be tomorrow’s post. 🙂
I became a Christian when I was 18, and my roots go back to those faithful Navigator’s. I can think of hundreds of people during my college years who influenced me to press on no turning back, and a few select deep and wide roots that poured themselves into my life and accelerated my growth.
I often wonder who the sowers were, to add to your farming analogy, the ones who prayed for me before the college reapers. These are the unsung heroes also in the ongoing faith hall of fame. I also know there are those faithfully praying for me now, though I may not know who they are- that is the only explanation for me still having my hand on the plow, still lacing up my shoes for the race. I will not know until eternity all of the roots and branches that composed my tree.
For those of you praying out there for the lost to be found, and for the wandering found to come back home, keep running.
The thing about a tree, mathematically :), is it’s “self-similarity.” New branches divide out from mother branches in the same way, and keep on iterating to the tiniest twigs at the end. Dawson Trotman, founder of the Navigator’s, wrote a little booklet, “Born To Reproduce.” We pour into others in the same way we were poured into, as Paul instructed Timothy to take what he had learned from Paul, entrust it to faithful followers, who would then teach others also.
This is what you are doing, Margaret, as you without fail get before your keyboard. There are times when your words have been just the sap this tree needed for wisdom and sharpening and encouragement, whether about your own life or a life you highlighted. It is what you have done with your children through the marathon of raising them and exemplifying the runner who presses on, not perfectly, not without tripping, but faithfully and steadfastly. It is what you have done in the most painful trial of your life, as you have shared candidly and with raw emotion and let us walk with you and the Shepherd through that valley.
May God continue to give you the pen of a ready writer.
Love,
Terry
I LOVED this reminder, Midge; I once asked a biblestudy teacher “exactly WHO is the ‘great cloud of witnesses?'” and his reply really impacted me; They are the people in our past who were a major influence in our lives (preferrably Godly) and are now watching over us from heaven to learn from us what they didn’t before going home” We have ‘witness’ of their lives through either the bible (God’s spoken word of human examples) or others since then – down through the ages, give witness to their generations – for us – to learn from – in the now of our lives.’ There IS – NOTHING HIDDEN UNDER THE SUN. (SON)
A PRAYER TO SHARE; Blessed Father in Heaven, in the name of Jesus, I’m asking your Holy Spirit, my helper, to search the deepest corners of my heart and flood it with Your light; bring to the surface anything not of YOU and make it clean. Give me your wisdom and understanding of it and dispose any roots that may have taken hold. Amen
This prayer – I do often – depending on circumstances in my life at the time. It brings me comfort and peace beyond all understanding. GOD IS FAITHFUL – all the time !!
I had just mentioned that scripture to Derek with Hans as the example of a guy who does not look back. Just this morning. I love it when that happens.