Every June the gentle breezes in our neighborhood blow white, wispy seeds from some nearby cottonwood trees for miles and miles around. (At least I've been told that they are cottonwood trees!) As I look out the window of my house on a sunny day I see the seeds everywhere - at all levels of the atmosphere. I admit that it is sort of nice to see them floating effortlessly through the sky - that is, until I go out into my garage!
We leave our garage door open most of the time when we are home because we use the door inside the garage to go in and out of our house. Leaving the garage open this time of year means that it becomes a haven for thousands of cottonwood seeds. They are everywhere. On the shelves, on the floor, in the corners, underneath things. So I take my shop vac and suck up all the seeds I can find in order to make my garage tidy again. Of course, several days later, there are just as many, if not more, seeds in my garage than before! So I get out my shop vac and suck them up once more. This continues for several weeks until the cottonwoods finally quit shedding for another year.
As I look at all those cottonwood seeds I think of my recent reading in the book of Acts. In Acts 8:1 it says “On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles, scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.” The ‘day’ being referred to here is the stoning of Stephen in the previous chapter. From the Day of Pentecost and the birth of the church right up to Stephen’s death, the church in Jerusalem grew and grew until we read in Acts 6:7 - “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.” After the death of Stephen, just like cottonwood seeds, the church was blown by the wind of the Holy Spirit so that it scattered everywhere. First believers went into neighboring Judea and Samaria, then on to Antioch, and ultimately throughout the Roman Empire.
So the next time I get out my shop vac to sweep up some more of those cottonwood seeds, I want to remember that God works in mysterious ways. He uses wind to blow seeds from cottonwood trees so that new trees can develop and He uses persecution and other means to scatter His people so that new believers can develop. What an amazing God!
Lord, thank you for the way that You have scattered Your people over all the earth. The result of this is that someday every nation, tribe, people and tongue are going to be gathered around Your throne in worship. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
We leave our garage door open most of the time when we are home because we use the door inside the garage to go in and out of our house. Leaving the garage open this time of year means that it becomes a haven for thousands of cottonwood seeds. They are everywhere. On the shelves, on the floor, in the corners, underneath things. So I take my shop vac and suck up all the seeds I can find in order to make my garage tidy again. Of course, several days later, there are just as many, if not more, seeds in my garage than before! So I get out my shop vac and suck them up once more. This continues for several weeks until the cottonwoods finally quit shedding for another year.
As I look at all those cottonwood seeds I think of my recent reading in the book of Acts. In Acts 8:1 it says “On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles, scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.” The ‘day’ being referred to here is the stoning of Stephen in the previous chapter. From the Day of Pentecost and the birth of the church right up to Stephen’s death, the church in Jerusalem grew and grew until we read in Acts 6:7 - “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.” After the death of Stephen, just like cottonwood seeds, the church was blown by the wind of the Holy Spirit so that it scattered everywhere. First believers went into neighboring Judea and Samaria, then on to Antioch, and ultimately throughout the Roman Empire.
So the next time I get out my shop vac to sweep up some more of those cottonwood seeds, I want to remember that God works in mysterious ways. He uses wind to blow seeds from cottonwood trees so that new trees can develop and He uses persecution and other means to scatter His people so that new believers can develop. What an amazing God!
Lord, thank you for the way that You have scattered Your people over all the earth. The result of this is that someday every nation, tribe, people and tongue are going to be gathered around Your throne in worship. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment