Just a Smidgen
Excerpt from Mark 4:30-32
Jesus said, "With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade."
Refection by Ron Buford
Have you ever worked with a great cook who did not use teaspoons, tablespoons or cup measures? They might say, "Use just a smidgen of this or that — it's my secret ingredient."
"How much is a smidgen anyway?" the student asks.
She'd say, "Oh, about this much," grabbing "a smidgen" between her thumb and forefinger.
The cooking lesson is nearly complete when the meal is served and the delicate balance of spices and ingredients is experienced, and understood. The student must then be able to replicate the recipe, connecting ingredients, technique, timing, and presentation.
It will take several tries for the chef in training to get it just right, replicating and perhaps even enhancing the original experience.
Jesus, the master teacher, teaches us that mixing prayer, Bible study, fellowship, work for justice, forgiveness, with just a "smidgen" of hopeful expectation, persistence, and love brings forth the Realm of God into our lives. With it, God transforms our weaknesses, failures, loneliness, disappointment, battles with illness, addiction and grief that seem too hard to bear...into life's greatest masterpieces.
From tiny seeds of hope, patience, persistence, love, and faith come great trees that when fully grown serve as a perch for others to come, sit, observe, and find the lessons they also need to thrive—and all because of "just a smidgen."
Prayer
Gracious God, I'm trying this recipe and it's not feeling like a masterpiece yet. Help me to keep cooking until my life is a masterpiece from your perspective. Even if I cannot see it yet...I believe...a smidgen. May that smidgen make something of a masterpiece in my life today. Thank you. Amen.
Excerpt from Mark 4:30-32
Jesus said, "With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade."
Refection by Ron Buford
Have you ever worked with a great cook who did not use teaspoons, tablespoons or cup measures? They might say, "Use just a smidgen of this or that — it's my secret ingredient."
"How much is a smidgen anyway?" the student asks.
She'd say, "Oh, about this much," grabbing "a smidgen" between her thumb and forefinger.
The cooking lesson is nearly complete when the meal is served and the delicate balance of spices and ingredients is experienced, and understood. The student must then be able to replicate the recipe, connecting ingredients, technique, timing, and presentation.
It will take several tries for the chef in training to get it just right, replicating and perhaps even enhancing the original experience.
Jesus, the master teacher, teaches us that mixing prayer, Bible study, fellowship, work for justice, forgiveness, with just a "smidgen" of hopeful expectation, persistence, and love brings forth the Realm of God into our lives. With it, God transforms our weaknesses, failures, loneliness, disappointment, battles with illness, addiction and grief that seem too hard to bear...into life's greatest masterpieces.
From tiny seeds of hope, patience, persistence, love, and faith come great trees that when fully grown serve as a perch for others to come, sit, observe, and find the lessons they also need to thrive—and all because of "just a smidgen."
Prayer
Gracious God, I'm trying this recipe and it's not feeling like a masterpiece yet. Help me to keep cooking until my life is a masterpiece from your perspective. Even if I cannot see it yet...I believe...a smidgen. May that smidgen make something of a masterpiece in my life today. Thank you. Amen.
|
No comments:
Post a Comment