Well the weather has turned warm so cycling is on my mind. For a cyclist, the last few days in Knoxville can best be paraphrased from 2 Samuel 11:1 about David, before his affair with Bathsheba, - "In the season when cyclist first go to the road". I know that was terrible, but I thought you may need a laugh.
Anyway, just as in the time of David when there was a season when kings went to war, there is a time each year at arrives when the serious cyclist gets outside. We have been inside, on trainers / rollers, or at the gym for months, but it is now time to go outside. This time of year your legs hurt, your lungs ache, and your butt will be sore, and that is all before mile 10 of the first real road ride each year. After that you know that you are in for a season of pain, a season of struggle, intermixed with a season of pure pleasure with the wind in your face.
One thing about being a cyclist, even if you are like me and not that good, that you can spot those that ride from miles away. It is like any sport, or activity, if you do it, you can tell those that are good and those that are not from a distance. The position on the bike, the gear they drive, the way they handle traffic, when they shift and when they do not. It has nothing to do with fitness and ability, it comes with miles in your legs, the sense of the road. The ability to read the road, the conditions, and the knowledge of your own personal ability can not be taught, it can only be learned through experience. It is something that requires you to examine yourself regularly to see where you can improve. Like anything you want to improve at, introspection is a required before you can improve.
Being a Christian is the same. After a period of time we should be able to see how serious other Christians are by their lives. The way they live shows us, and the world, their seriousness. Now this is not to say that we need to judge, but the life of the righteous and devoted should stick out. The Bible tells us about fruit production, and though I do not think we are called to be God's fruit inspectors for others, I do think that God allows us to see the fruit of others and be able determine if they are on good spiritual page. Basically, you will know them by their fruit, and we should know good fruit when we see it.
Today, I want to challenge you to do what I have been doing recently, and that is to do a inspection of your own orchard. Some of my trees needed pruning, others needed to be feed, others needed be planted, some needed to be removed, and some just need to be left alone until they bloom and not rushed to produce.
The last is the one that is the hardest for most. Many want to see fruit produce NOW, not later. They want to rush things to bud, but we all have to learn that it takes time for things to take root and blossom. If we do not allow that time of proper maturation then when the rains and storms come, and they will, then those trees / areas will fail and disappear. This web site / blog is currently a blooming tree, but it took time to bloom. There were times that we personally want it too bloom more, grow faster, and expand quickly. However, we had to remind ourselves that every day this website and blog are viewed by more people then attend a average sized church on Sunday. That is not bad.
What was tough was being patient early on when other sites got, and still get, so many more hits, and do not offer positive content. What keep this site going though was the understanding that Team Swap is God's ministry, we are just the hands - no feet needed for web work - LOL - that He uses to maintain, expand and update it. That is a blessing in itself, and one that we all need to fully learn to appreciate in our own unique ways. God will expand / change this, and any other, ministry when it is the right time. He will also expand it how He likes, and He will direct it where it needs to be. If we allow God to mature our ministries, lives, duties, and work at the right speed then, and only then, will they be able to survive the rough times, and only then will we not outgrow the roots (support system) that keep ministries, and ourselves going.
I guess the thing that I am trying to say is that I have seen ministries expand too rapidly, and then collapse because they had insufficient support / capacity (roots) for them to maintain their size. Early on, we ask God to grow this web site / blog, but to do it at a rate that is manageable. Honestly, if Team Swap started getting 10000 hits a day, or more, we would not have the time to maintain and update it properly, since we do it in our spare time. So, God is blessing our ministry at the level of capacity that we currently have, which is the right amount. As much as we would love to write, teach, speak and do this web site full time God has not opened that door, and we have to allow Him to work where it comes, if ever, at the right time. God does not call everyone to full time Christian service, or too a ministry that is hugely visible. Knowing what God is calling you to do is just as important as doing what God wants you to do.
Personally, we will continue to pray for God to expand our borders and lands, but over time we have learned that His timing for those things is more important then the expansion. Why do we say that? Well because if the need exceeds capacity no one benefits, least of all GOD!!
So, I pray that today you can examine your orchard and find an area that God will give you some new knowledge in, maybe it is patience, maybe it is something else. What area it is in does not matter, what matters is our willingness to examine our fruit and desire a better crop. In the season where Christians examine their fruit, and when cyclist go to the road, is the season that I want to live in all the time.
Have a great day serving God in all things.
