Kudzu

"I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.
John 10:14-15

This has been an interesting summer to say the least. Through these long humid days, and a few short months, I have renewed a number of friendships from my college days. Our walk with Christ was the thing that bound us together, and it is amazing, almost 30 years later, He is still the central focus of our lives.

My Baton Rouge friend, John, mailed a book to me that has become about as close as the Bible. John has been instrumental in encouraging me to step out and tap the keyboard. I would like to shamelessly plug his blog: The Hutch. Be forewarned, however, his writings are like Francis Schaeffer meeting Tennessee Williams, whereas I am Norman Rockwell painting Foghorn Leghorn. Pretty deep guy, but a real blessing!

The book I am referring to is Messy Spirituality: God's Annoying Love for Imperfect People by Michael Yaconelli. Here is a sample:

Jesus is not repelled by us, no matter how messy we are, regardless of how incomplete we are. When we recognize that Jesus is not discouraged by our humanity, is not turned off by our messiness, and simply doggedly pursues us in the face of it all, what else can we do but give in to his outrageous indiscriminate love?

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I took the picture above just because I liked the scene so much and wanted to build a story around it. The old store is in a community called Pike Road, about 10 minutes from my house.

Kudzu. Click on the word and see what it is all about. What a mess, but so much of the landscape of the south, it is woven into our lives, culture, the good earth. Check out this link to see what the Speedy Gonzales of the vine world can do! The vines have a rubbery consistency, and are almost impossible to break with your hands. Tarzan could get a lot of mileage on these things. There is a baseball field in Montgomery that has a Kudzu covered hill side behind the fence. A home run ball disappears forever.

Jesus is my kudzu. Strong, ever increasing love. Outrageous growth, indiscriminate blessings. Annoying love. Covers me and hides me. The gospels are full of His parables relating to this pursuit: The prodigal son, the shepherd leaving the 99 and searching for the one lost sheep...find some yourself...there are many more.

There is one thing, however, I have noticed in the pictures that allow the kudzu to rule. The barns are standing still. The vine is a fast one, but we can easily outrun it and it does not attach itself to us. In a spiritual sense, however, I wonder if I am taking the time to stand still and allow this annoying love to cover me and hide me. Sadly, not nearly enough. Sometimes it takes the three words that the Master spoke to the forces of nature in Mark 4: "Hush, be still."

"Yes Sir, cover me with your love," should be my response to His charitable command.
Mark
Prov 17:22