Simple things…
The Poppy…
Poppy seeds require little attention to grow and spread. Thinly toss a few seeds upon the surface of warm, frequently sunlit soil, provide them with about six hours sunlight daily and in a few months time you will have a returning supply of beautiful blooms – some varieties as much as five feet tall!
Bread and Wine…
It was Passover and, according to the Law of Moses, the bread was most certainly unleavened bread. The wine they drank was a diluted, weak wine most certainly non-alcoholic. It was a staple, for the water of the region was not good. Essentially this was bread and water, the simplest, most basic, elements of human sustenance.
The poppy and the elements of bread and wine: each simple things, each objects of remembrance, each prompting reflections upon sacrificial death.
I like simple things. They’re the sorts of things Christ used to teach great things: lilies, fields, sheep, and sparrows: lessons in vanity, evangelism, submission, and trust. Few things are really necessary things. To Martha Jesus said, “Only one thing is needful“ (Luke 10:42). On a much loftier scale perhaps Paul sought after thst same “one thing” (Phil. 3:13-14). Regarding the practicalities of life he concluded, “if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that” (1 Tim. 6:8). Why? Because we have found that first “one thing,” Christ.
We each get only one life and to decide what we will do with it: it is ours to live, or ours to give. Those we shall honor this Remembrance Day gave theirs for cause and country. Christ gave His for “bringing many sons and daughters to glory” (Heb. 2:10). He gave it to bring believers to a new country… the ‘far’ country… the eternal kingdom of God.
To seek that kingdom is the primary thing. It surpasses quests for all other things. Jesus clearly said that if we “seek first His kingdom and His righteousness… all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matt. 6:33).
We remembered these two sacrifices this past Sunday. We remember our fallen and are changed as we quietly covenant to take up their torch. We remember our Saviour, and by Him we are changed. We are changed as we give our lives to Him. We are changed as we allow His life to live through us. We are changed as we do simple things… little things… “cup of cold water” and “second mile” things… little things in His Name.
“We can not do great things – only small things with great love.” – Mother Teresa.
More tomorrow…
To hear this past Sunday’s message, go to the Facebook page of Lincoln Baptist Church, or link to the livestream from the church website.
thebrokenrunner 