Messy

Proverbs 14:4 Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox.

It is amazing how your perception can change. Last week while playing soccer with our boys from the orphanage, I stepped in a huge pile of cow manure. For those of you who have never been, it really isn't that uncommon, as the cows graze in and through the soccer "field" we have on the farm. It really didn't phase me a whole lot as I just tried to clean it off in the grass, and kept on taking my woopin' on the soccer field. Later on God used that nastiness to show me a greater truth about effective ministry. He called to mind the first few days of my first trip in which I was more concerned with "staying clean" than ministering to the boys. On that first trip, I had it all figured out as to what to say and how to "help" these boys get through life. I was not going to get messy in the process though....that is until He broke me.

Proverbs 14 speaks directly to the truth of effective work and for a Christian that means ministering to God and others as we serve. If there is no ox at work, then the manger is nice and tidy and white. If the manger is messy than you can bet that the ox is busy and productive as he literally plows through life. We must also see that the abundant harvest does not come without work and the mess it brings.

How that speaks to the heart of our work as well. Have you ever noticed how our flesh wants to avoid the mess at all cost? Have you noticed how much easier it is to just ignore a problem, person or challenge than it is to actual walk through that challenge by faith in the power of God alone? Have you noticed how much easier it is to discredit a sermon or pastor than to actually look at the truth in God's word that he might be proclaiming? To turn a blind eye to the drunk or beggar than to engage Him?

When you look through the bible you see a whole lot of messiness. Look at Peter and Paul and you see tremendous amounts of mess. God used that messiness to move their perceived strength from themselves to Himself. It really is the primary way that God draws us to His grace and purity. Look at Moses, the Prophets, the disciples and look at Jesus's ministry. Jesus was certainly not a mess, but the people and followers sure were. Just pick your page in the bible and look what God is doing: He is at work in us trying to clean us up and redeem us. Why? We my friends are all a mess. We desperately need God to clean us up.

For many years I thought that church was a place you went were everything was perfect and nice and sterile. There were no problems and there was no mess. Every one dressed nice, smiled, and had the right Sunday school answer to repeat at exactly the right time,so that everyone could feel good about their collective knowledge of the bible. I now believe what the bible says about the messiness of God's work through His sinful creation, and it is indeed a mess that takes time, humility and transparency to work through. I thank God for staying in the messy "manger" in my soul until I yielded. I pray that God would give me His patience and perseverance so that I could truly minister to others as well.