THE NEW EWE

"What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!'"

Luke 15:4-6

September 4, 2024

LIFE IN THE FOLD

Our house is on a busy street. Back in 1968 when Jon's parents first bought this house, things weren't so crowded and busy. In fact, when Jon and I got married in 2005 and moved into this house, the street wasn't nearly so busy. But over the years, new neighborhoods have been built on this street and traffic is constant.

We live near a main street where there are lots of businesses. There are several stores, a gas station, bank and eating establishments. There is a fire station within walking distance of our home. So needless to say, we have a steady stream of vehicles passing by our house.

That can be irritating, but there is something that I find even more frustrating; that is people tossing their trash out into our yard. Probably at least 3-4 times a week I have to pick up some type of trash from our ditch. Pop cans, beer cans, food wrappers, condiment containers..... Someone even threw a dirty diaper out their window into our yard one time. In addition to that, there are always cigarette butts at the end of our driveway, near our mailbox, that people toss out their window.

I don't get it! We keep our lawn mowed, don't have junk or trash piled up outside, and keep things looking nice with our house and yard. I don't see trash tossed out in our neighbors' ditches. I did weed-eating for a neighbor this week, around the end of their driveway, which was overgrown and hadn't been done in weeks; and I only found one piece of paper. Why us?!

The only conclusion I've come to is that people get fast food from the drive-thru, or get a snack/drink from the gas station, or buy something from one of the stores that are at the end of our street, then finish about the time they get to our house, so toss their trash out their window. Some of the food wrappers may come from kids who walk to get food, maybe sneaking out of their house, and so they toss their trash down in our yard instead of taking it home and throwing it away.

I've often wanted to put out a sign that says, "I don't throw my trash into your yard. Please be respectful and give me the same courtesy. Stop throwing your trash in my yard." But that would likely only make the trash situation worse. So I just pick it up and throw it away.

I'm sure we've all heard it said that you reap what you sow. That comes from Galatians 6:7. If we live only to please our flesh and sinful nature, then our harvest will be decay and death. But if we live to please the Spirit, our harvest will be everlasting life.

Verses 9-10 says, "So let's not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't give up. Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone -- especially to those in the family of faith."

What we sow not only affects our life, but those around us. If we are tossing trash into our "yard", it will become weedy and trashy. The longer we let it go, the more difficult it will be to clean it up. Not impossible, but harder and more time consuming. It will not only trash up our own life, but we will soon be tossing our garbage into our family and friends and people we don't even know. We will lose respect for ourselves and not care that we are tossing things out into the lives of others. Our conscience will no longer bother us and we will make excuses as to why it's okay to do what we do.

The thing is, most people have trash cans in their homes, so whoever is tossing their trash into our yard could just as easily take it home and then toss it out. We have a big gas station/convenience store within sight of our house that has trash cans beside all of their gas pumps, so it would be quick to drive there and toss out their trash, if they didn't want it in their cars. There are several options, other than littering in our yard!

We all have choices and options on how we live our life. Some think it's no one's business, other than their own, but when our eternity is at stake and it could affect the eternity of others, then we need to be more conscientious. We need to make sure that we are sowing good seeds. None of us should ever want to be the cause of someone stumbling or being offended or pulling away from the Lord.

Every opportunity we have, let's sow good seeds into the lives of others. Let's keep our heart and life pure and free from garbage. Let's encourage others to keep the trash out of their heart and to grow in their relationship with Jesus. It may require us to sometimes take the time and effort to keep the trash cleaned out of our heart; even if it's coming from things that others are tossing into our lives. When we see other people allowing garbage to gather in their life, take time to walk alongside them and if they will allow us, help them clean up.

If we see someone, in the household of faith, who may be struggling and needing help, let's sow good seeds into their life as often as we have the opportunity. It not only benefits them, but will be beneficial to us, too.

JON'S PERSPECTIVE:

Some messes are easy to clean up. An empty bag, a can, papers, cups--all easy to pick up and throw away. Some messes take a little more work, but not too bad. Dirty dishes, spilled drinks, even mud tracked on our carpets--all cleanable without too much trouble. Even when our dog throws up, it smells bad, but can be cleaned up fairly easily--as long as we get to it quickly.

But some messes are much worse. When our sewer backed up, that was much worse. We couldn't even get close to the mess without walking in it. And every towel we used to clean it up was so disgusting afterward that we could barely stand to touch it. The mess was too big to use paper towels, so we had to clean the towels, spreading the mess to our washing machine.

Sins can be like that. Some sins may be easy to repent for, get forgiveness, and clean up. And most of those are best dealt with quickly. Some might require a little extra work, like apologizing. And the faster it's done, the easier it is to clean up. But some sins create such a mess that they hurt others in the act of the sin, but also hurt others who may just be nearby, or who try to help.

It is great that we serve a forgiving God. Jesus already gave His life to clean up all our sins. The stink and mess may take more work, but He wipes away the sin when we ask. And that's more important than the rest.

ON THE MENEWE:

Peanut Butter Bars

Mix all ingredients, except for the chocolate chips, together into a creamy mixture. Press into a nonstick or sprayed 9x13 pan.

Melt 1 package of semi-sweet chocolate chips. Spread over the peanut butter bar mixture.

Chill. Cut into 1-2 inch squares. Store in airtight container.

THIS, THAT AND THE OTHER:

Last year when my nephew's two little ones were kindergarteners I told them that they had to sit in the front of the bus. Ended up, they were assigned seats and spent the year sitting on the front seat for the school year. I think it was because they had got into trouble for not staying in their seats and being a tad ornery, so the bus driver had them set there so he could keep a better eye on them.

This year I had told the kids that they didn't have to sit on the front seat, but not to sit in the back because that was where the big kids set. They needed to stay closer to the front. I noticed one morning that my niece walked back a ways before finding a seat. I asked her the next day if she had sat further back on the bus. She said, "I just sat a little further back... not in the back with the big kids... but in the back of the front (I think she meant she sat a few seats back from the front). And I didn't even get lost on the bus!! I really didn't! I found my way off the bus -- no problem!"

THOUGHT TO PONDER:

Be careful about rushing God's timing.

You never know what He is protecting you or saving you from. - TobyMac

OUR HEARTFELT THANKS TO YOU:

We love you!

Loretta & Jon

http://www.graysheep.org