January 28th, 2002
From the pen of Rudyard Kipling
"Our England is a garden,
and such gardens are not made
by singing:-- ‘O how beautiful!’
and sitting in the shade,
while better men than we go out
And start their working-lives
at grubbing weeds from gravel-paths
with broken dinner-knives."
That good old book of Hebrews says it this way in 12:14f, "Pursue peace with everyone and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that noone fails to obtain the grace of God."
The operative word is "PURSUE," and equally important, "with EVERYONE" even if the tools you have to use are not ideal. That is, if the one called to pursue is myself. You and I can never be ideal tools to proclaim the grace and mercy of God brought to us by Jesus but they’re all we have and they are to be used.
And this peace is not simply freedom from trial but rather, everything that makes for man’s highest good which in the end means obedience to God, as well as a right relationship with all people. The bible always comes back to the great commandments no matter in how many different ways they are stated, "Love Lord your God and your neighbor as yourself." Or "this new commandment I give unto you, love one another as I have loved you." All of these requirements mean that we must do something.
All we pledge to you at First Baptist is that we seek to follow these instructions to the best of our ability and solicit your help if you are like minded, even if you feel you are only a broken dinner knife. Together we can make God’s difference.
FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH
201 Oak St.
Mauston, WI 53948-1333 608-8474555
Past Weeks Thoughts: