“Beneath the Surface” by Justin March

“I waited way too
long to mow this lawn!”

As I grabbed the mower
and pushed it to the backyard, I quickly understood I had a daunting task ahead
of me.  I knew I was going to have to raise the mower to its’ highest
settings, make one pass through the yard, then lower the settings and go over
it again to get our lawn to the desired length.  I had definitely waited
too long, and now my chore was going to be more difficult than I had
anticipated.

The first pass was not
too bad.  The settings were high enough and the mower enabled me to glide
over the lawn without much effort.  I did have to stop multiple times to
empty the bag, but at least I could push through and get the job done.
But as I looked at the freshly manicured lawn, I knew the first cut was not
going to be enough.

The second pass was
not so easy.  As I lowered the mowers’ settings to the desired length, I
quickly found out the obstacles that awaited me.  The lawn was thick
underneath that top surface.  It had been ignored too long, and the growth
below put up quite a fight as I struggled to cut through it.  It almost
felt like the lawn had become comfortable in its’ heavy laden, rain soaked
haven, and it was going to do its’ best to hinder me from breaking
through.  But even as the mower got bogged down, the blades stopped
churning, and the engine shut off, I never gave up.  I continued to empty
that bag, clean the debris that stopped the momentum, and pull that cord so
that the tool I was using would fire up again and complete the task at hand.

Do you ever feel like
following Christ can be as difficult as mowing a long ignored lawn?  On
the surface, we may look like we have it all together and life is easy.
We may glide through each day, do the basics of what God is asking, and be seen
by others as a mission led disciple.  But what happens when God wants to
cut through to that next layer?  Are we more resistant?  Do our barriers
rise?  Or worse yet, do our comfort levels and sin filled natures stop us
from allowing God to get through all the layers so he can make us healthy,
prosperous, and open to all His gifts?

Like the story of the
lawn above, I often find myself comfortable in my heavy laden, sin soaked
haven.  I am okay with what is on the surface, and when God tries to go
deeper with our relationship together, I can become a hindrance and try to stop
Him from breaking through.  But you know what God does?  God powers
through.  He continues to find ways to empty our bags.  He continues
to clean the debris from our lives.  And He continues to pull that cord so
that we can use the tools He provides to fire us up and complete the tasks he
sets before us.

Our relationship with
Christ is a journey, not a sprint.  There may be times when a quick pass
is enough to get the job done, but there will be also be times when the goals
will seem more daunting and difficult.  We may get bogged down in the
thickness of sin, our blades may slow down as they struggle to churn, and our
engines may shut off as the weight of the world gets heavy.  But just as
the lawn needs to be manicured to a certain level to be healthy, we too need to
be shaped and molded to fulfill God’s needs.  It may take a few passes to
get there, and we may need to allow Him to cut through multiple layers, but if
we are open to God’s messages, if we understand His missions, and we use His
tools to get the job done, we will blossom as the beautiful creations He made
in His image.  And before you know it, you will be healthy, vibrant, and
an amazing wonder as others pass by you and marvel at the magnificence God’s
work has created!