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My Delusions

I pedaled up the hill, seeming to have more energy than what I thought I had.  Covered with sweat, I also tasted tears running down my face.  Confession is good for the soul, and I found my heart being purged that morning.  How could I have been so delusional?  A delusion is a false view of reality.  The reality of living as a follower after Jesus is not the same as following after the Christian religion or church.  Although I've known that, I find that my thinking has often subtly been deluded.  I have read certain passages in the Bible with my own self serving interpretation.  But you can't do that as easily with the stories that Jesus told.

I don't know where the plant came from, but it seems to be thriving right beside my blueberry bush.  It's hardy and has small white blossoms on it, in fact it seems to be outgrowing the blueberry.  Once its dainty foliage is gone, there are small tiny green balls.  Is it a vegetable or just a plain ol' weed that has come to baffle me?  Of course, I thought first about pulling it out, but it seemed to almost look like a true flower so I decided to let it grow.  Time will tell me its  nature, and who knows it may be beneficial if it produces a fruit or vegetable? 

The soil is the world that God has placed us in.  Lovingly, He sent his only Son to come into the world's plot.  It is not a neatly plowed prepared field, but one that has hard packed areas, thorny and rocky spots, as well as patches of good  dirt.  The seed is always evidenced by the plant that grows and the produce that follows.  I realize that I can live hardened and closed.  I can live foolishly unproductive with the abilities I have been given.  Or I could spend my days  conniving evil and trying to achieve ill gain.  But I could just accept with loving gratitude what has been granted to me.  I could bloom where I have been planted, without complaining about what I haven't had or can't do.  It's really up to me.  Life is given to me and every hour can be beneficial and bear constructive growth.   The seed is the same, the ground the same, the difference is dependent on the response to the conditions that the seed fell upon.  Into this world I have come with the choice to be productive or unresponsive, to do good or wrong, to get entangled with the "prosperity," the stuff of the "good life," or to make the most of whatever I have been granted.  It's not for me to complain about the seed or the soil.

Plus, it's not for me to uproot what seems to be a plant.  Weeds and plants grow side by side, often you cannot tell the difference until harvest time.  It's not my mission to uproot those that are foreign to me, who hold opposite points of view, and may live alternative lifestyles to mine.  I need to focus on my own growth and remember too that I am growing in a field, not an isolated plot.  I was never intended to be grown in a greenhouse.  Christianity has veered so far from the simple stories of Jesus.  Following Him is not about being politically powerful and influential, is not about being prejudiced and prideful or having laws your way. It's not about isolating yourself from society and only moving in "Christianese" circles.  Maybe, it's time to stop the delusions . . . 

 So I'm watering both plants and patiently waiting the outcome.  Giving up my delusions has opened my heart to not only receive more peace and joy, but to love and give in ways I never thought possible.  

"Whatever we may think of the process of affairs of this age, Christ was under no delusion.  He looked on, and saw exactly what has happened.  Everything has happened, and is happening according to His teaching."
 (The Parables and Metaphors Of Our Lord, 1943;
 Dr. G. Campbell Morgan, pg. 65)
 

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