Fruitful

I greet you for the first time in 2017…the first time since the holidays and my much-needed Sabbatical.  One of my priorities for this coming year is to reinstitute writing these blogs on a regular basis.  Not only is it a helpful practice for me, but I’ve been encouraged by many of you to keep it up because it helps you in your own journey with Jesus as well.  I apologize for the lapse of time, and am now ready to get back into it after a crazy season.

Not everyone is able to take a month off to rest & reflect & recharge, and I am certainly grateful for the opportunity I had to do so for the conclusion of my 10^th year of leading Catalyst!  I had gotten pretty far “off kilter” after a tremendous year of organizational growth.  In fact, I began to wonder if I would ever be able to totally simmer-down as I continued to struggle with anxiety and a sense of urgency after 2-weeks off.  I did eventually begin to come down…I suppose it makes sense that stress-recovery takes awhile when its causes are months in the making.  So I really enjoyed and appreciated the time off, and have emerged saner, stronger, and seriously committed to rediscovering healthy spiritual rhythms to sustain the pace of my earthly journey…and so that I don’t go back to that place again.

Can you relate to this?  Does it ring true for areas of your life & work & relationships & responsibilities?  Do you ever feel like you’re in over your head…for a really long time…running on fumes?  Honestly, I feel like this is par for the course for many of us.  We live in a world that practically worships productivity and efficiency.  My “Type A” personality swallows this whole like a game-fish going after a shiny lure.  Why is this, exactly?  What is it about accomplishing tasks that can sometimes wreck us inside?  God calls us to be faithful and responsible, right?  But what does that mean, exactly?

As followers of Jesus, we are literally citizens of 2 opposing kingdoms…the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of this world.  We have obligations to both, but our inner desires and gut-level priorities are predominantly shaped by one over the other.  We may have a solid and robust belief-structure and moral-compass based on the scriptures, yet struggle deeply with areas of sin which derail & disempower what we say we believe.  Sometimes these sins are really devious looking, and other times they seem more socially acceptable.  In any case, scripture calls this the battle between the flesh and the Spirit…we struggle with allegiance between 2 masters.  When we get out of balance in some area of life – whether it’s workaholism, drunkenness, greed, pleasurism of some sort (I made that word up), or whatever – we can find ourselves standing still in an icy rut with the wheels spinning furiously to get us out. (fitting analogy here in Portland at the moment!).

Of course God wants us to do good in the world and shine His light through our lives; but what I’m relearning right now is that He asks me to be fruitful, not productive.  They’re different.  Think of the Vine & the Branches in John 15…we’re called to be fruitful but there’s only one command: “Remain in Me.”  Think of the Fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5…this is a list of virtues, rather than behaviors, with one command: Keep in step with the Spirit.  I’m learning again that God Himself is my source of significance, comfort and well-being…rather than what I do for Him.  My job is to focus on Him as we walk through my life together, rather than getting sidetracked or running ahead. We all tend to fill that “God-shaped-hole” in us with other things at times, and I’m being blessed right now as the Loving Father chastises and cherishes me back into rightful shape.  He’s so good and worth it!  I’ll leave you with this today: