The Lawn Geek
“Since
you have purified your souls in obeying the truth
though the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren,
love one another fervently with a pure heart, having
been born again, not of corruptible seed but
incorruptible, through the word of God which lives
and abides forever” (1 Peter 1:22-23)
What is your
PASSION in life? The word “passion” in recent usage
means that you have a compelling interest that
essentially CONSUMES you. Often the compulsion is
something you DO, like photography, or travel or
collecting things, such as the memorabilia
associated with a sports team. Your passion can be
lucrative. If you’re good at marketing your photos,
paintings, books, or whatever, your passionate
interest will not only give you pleasure, but
provide an income, as well.
In “USA
Today,” for Monday, June 27, 2005 (Page 1D)
we read about Trey Rogers, a professor of “Turf
Grass Science” at Michigan State University,
in the United States. He has a PASSION for grass.
The article stated that Dr. Rogers “loves
grass, the legal variety,” and he “can
talk about it for hours.” His wife “refuses
to stroll the neighborhood with him.” He
says, “She won’t walk
with me anymore because I stop to look at the
lawns. On Father’s Day, I even took pictures.”
The USA article was entitled, “The
Lawn Geek.”
His whole
conversation, his whole life contains snippets like,
“Too much fertilizer, too
little water, dollar spots, winterkill. He can even
tell,” the article continued, “which
lawns have underground irrigation systems; with the
water off!” Rogers says “he
is pulled aside at cocktail parties by those who
confess to a ‘little problem’ they’re having with
dandelions or fungus.” While being
interviewed, he bent down, “scrunched
(grass)
in his hands and smiled as if he was touching sacred
ground. ‘The density is tremendous,’” he
breathed.
The article said,
“What Rogers loves most
about grass is its honesty. ‘Grass doesn’t lie. If
it needs water, it’s not going to faint. It’ll tell
you.’” He watched the U.S. Open Golf
Tournament and “he
analyzed the course’s grass more than the golfer’s
swings.”
The interest of
Dr. Rogers is surprising because we meet few in life
that are in love with grass to the extent he is,
though most DO have abiding interests in SOMETHING.
Video games, crossword puzzles, movies, books –
people everywhere want to be BUSY, to have fun, to
be diverted from life’s problems, and they have
“passions” as a response to them.
We have seen
through the decades, that passionate interest in
paintings, books, TV shows, and just about
everything else in life will fade with time. If you
have spent time with the elderly, you’ll note that
many lose interest in activities that literally
consumed them in previous years. You might be
LIVING for your next vacation, another rock climb,
the upcoming sequel to a good book, and then, in a
few years – who cares! It’s become boring to you,
and you’re on to something else. Or you
can get
depressed and lose interest in everything.
The world, by the
way, regards religion and religious interests as a
“passion” that will fade in time. They have a
point and we should look at why we do what we do.
Today’s Scripture is remarkable because it is a
“litmus test,” which shows who and what we are.
Indeed, not all
who wear the label “Christian” actually are
Christians. That is one of the reasons why the
world rejects Christianity – because we are
confusing. There are false Christians among the
true. Paul the Apostle wrote to the CHURCH at
Corinth with these words: “Examine
yourselves as to whether you are in the faith.
Prove yourselves…” (2 Corinthians 13:5). He
challenges us to look into the mirror of our souls and find out
who we are.
Billy Sunday, the
“Billy Graham” of a previous generation, said this:
“Hypocrites in the
church? YES, and in the lodge and in the home. Don’t
hunt through the Church for a hypocrite. Go home and
look in the mirror. Hypocrites? Yes. See that you
make (them)
one less.” Don’t be afraid to look in that
mirror – You will see Him if you are His.
Don’t ever
despair. If you don’t like what you find in
yourself, just own up to your deficiencies. Tell
Jesus Christ and He will change you, in a good and
perfect way.
And don’t worry if
others in the church seem to be hypocrites. It
isn’t about them; it never was – it’s about the
Lord, and He is ALWAYS changing hypocrites into His
image. William Biederwolf said, “I
once saw a pile of counterfeit dollars. Did I go to
the window and throw away all my GOOD dollars? NO!
Yet you reject Christianity because there are
hypocrites, counterfeit Christians” in the
church. Look to HIM, not at each other.
Peter, another
apostle of Christ in addition to Paul, and the human author of today’s
Scripture, tells us what to look for inside
ourselves. He says, using the very words of Jesus
(John 3:3 & 7), that first of all we must be “born
again.” Something that is innately WRONG
inside us is to be made RIGHT through the power and
love of God and we will KNOW it has happened. And
it is important to note that to be “born
again” is not a “hobby.” It is to be made
different, to be changed deep inside, by the power
and love of God.
We find we
become “purified”
(which is both an event and a process) through our
encounter with Him. We discover in odd and
wonderful ways that we are finally “obeying”
Him and are becoming people of “truth,”
a process that only occurs through the Holy
Spirit of God. And
the reality of all this will be revealed through the
LOVE He gives us, a “sincere
love of the brethren.” Note this is not in
any way a mere human “passion.” Something has been
planted in us, like a seed that grows, “through
the Word of God which lives and abides forever.”
Dr. Rogers will eventually tire of his love for
grass, the legal kind, but love in the “Spirit”
will abide for those who love the Lord - “forever.”
In Romans 10:17,
we read these words: “Faith
comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.”
Combining those words with our verses for today, we
find that a permanent change is being wrought inside
of us, encouraged and fanned into an enduring
passion by the Word of God. This is not a hobby
that fades away. This passion actually grows during
the troubles of life, and the change in us is not of
our making – it comes from God.
Let’s pray: Reveal
me, Lord. Show me what I am, and change me, for I
need to be “born again.”
Transform my passion into love for You, love for
others. Let me look to Your Word, trust in You, and
be Yours – forever. In Jesus Name. Amen.
