| time
will tell
By Rick Horton - March 2002
Several years ago, I had the privilege of sitting under the teaching
of Dr. Henry Cloud. He pointed out a passage in Luke 13:6-9 that
I had breezed over several times. It was a parable Jesus told about
a man who planted a fig tree and how after three years of seeing
nothing but leaves and branches - no figs, he decided to have the
gardener cut it down and get rid of it. The gardener said, 'Let's
give it a year...' It seems the gardener had an idea that things
might be changing. In our lives The Gardener often says, 'Give him
some time; give her another year,' simply because He knows what
time can do... Time will tell.
Time has a way of appropriating grace and revealing truth. First
Time unleashes grace, simply put it spills over from the Holy Spirit
into how we see ourselves. Then because of Time, grace is poured
into those in our lives. People are viewed differently because Time
is moving us into grace. Through Time, truth exposes things like
motives and what drives us into acting the way we do. Time also
forces to the surface the truth about things like money and material
possessions. Time when given the right opportunity brings to light
the stuff that we would almost rather keep hidden the stuff that
grace keeps hanging around for. Yet, because of Time, truth really
does set us free and grace is revealed and wholly embraced. Here
we begin to understand that God has an agenda, it is marked by His
time... Time will tell.
As I look at the Church at Matthew's House these days, this phrase
seems to provide a silhouette of where we are and where we will
continue to be. For us, I've begun to realize that time is no longer
an enemy but an ally in our journey. Time is simply another tool
God is using to grow us. Even as I state this, there seems to be
a stirring in my heart. As a family of churches, we are learning
to appropriate grace in increasing measures and still we are lost
in the mystery that God would choose us. We are also discovering
that truth, though difficult at times, moves us into the "Light
& Life" that John the beloved often writes about. God is doing so
much, the stories are abundant; still, give it a year, and we will
all be in awe... Time will tell. |
