Doing The Stuff You Know

"But thanks be to God that you, having once been slaves of sin, have become obedient from the heart to the form of teaching to which you were entrusted, and that you, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness." - Paul (Romans 6:17-18)

Dear Friends in Christ -

A couple months ago, one of the beloved parishioners here at St. Paul's (beloved by others, beloved by me) asked me how I was doing. He asked the question on one of those days when I was looking a little ragged around the edges - dark circles under my eyes from not quite enough sleep the night before, clothing slightly askew from getting down on the floor with the kids at church, shoes clicking quickly along as I rushed between meetings. I replied, "Good, a little tired, but good!" With a knowing smile, he said, "You know, all those wellness training things we send you on don't do any good if you don't DO the stuff they teach you."

If I had a bull's eye painted on my chest, he couldn't have made a better shot. I felt humbled - and grateful for his honesty.

"He who has ears to hear, let him hear." Yep.

The main challenge in the Christian life - in all of life, really - isn't to amass more knowledge, but to live true to what we already know. If we actually DID the two commandments in the New Testament - (1) Love God and (2) Love your neighbor as yourself - astonishing things would happen.

Over the past couple of months, God has brought my encounter with this parishioner to mind many times, continuing to call me to DO the good I know to do. This week, God teased my attention back to this with the following story. May it bless - and CHALLENGE - you as it did me.

Faithfully,
Janet+

A young agricultural official was sent out by the County Extension to help farmers improve their crops. In visiting the first farm on his agenda for the week, the young official talked excitedly with the farmer about the practices recommended in a book he was offering. “This book will tell you everything you need to know about farming,” the official said enthusiastically. “It tells you when to sow and when to reap. It tells you about weather, what to expect and when to expect it. This book will tell you all you need to know.” “Sir,” the farmer said, “that’s not the problem. I know everything in that book. My problem is doing it.”