Mission in Action

I took Declan for a walk in the John Forrest National Park this morning – his first trip into the park, despite the fact we live 2 minutes drive from the entrance.  Hot, dry weather doesn’t make an Australian national park much fun for a toddler, but now in winter with the rains making the streams flow, and Declan in exploration mode, it was time.

Well of course I made the mistake of stopping at the first big puddle and throwing a stone into it, and before you know it Declan would not budge.  Every stone, piece of gravel (and occasional handful of dirt) had to be thrown into that patch of water.  Mountain bikers zipped past;  families out for a bracing walk in a winter breeze; just-teen kids trying to impress each other – all swagger and laugh.  And all the time Declan was tossing stones into a puddle.  It was the same with the next puddle – when we managed to move on twenty metres or so. And the next. And the next.  We only got a few hundred metres along the trail before the weather turned and it was back to the car, Declan covered in dirt, water, and the contented look of a job well done.

I’d had other ideas.  I’d wanted to walk with him to see the breath-taking view down the valley where  boulders litter the sides of the hills like huge brown eggs nestled in now-green straw.   And the old Victorian railway tunnel – bored through the solid rock and lined with 400,000 bricks . The tunnel is 500 metres long and pitch black as you walk through it, save for the sharp point of light at the other end that diffuses the closer you get to it. A metaphor for our lives perhaps?

But for Declan it was pebbles and puddles – his concentrated “uh-oh” at every splash echoing the first casual one I threw out along with the stone.   And as we went through the motions (for me, not him) I was reminded again of  that beautiful image GK Chesterton has of God causing the sun to rise every morning for millenia.  Why does it do so? Because God is so much younger than we – and with a childlike wonder he utters a delighted “Do it again!”

This thought has been on my mind all week as our group explores what it means to be a Spirit-filled community.  What does it mean to walk in step with the Spirit in the way Galatians talks about?  Are we looking for the spectacular? Grand vistas and impressive creations?  There’s nothing wrong with wanting the “wow” factor, and certainly nothing wrong with asking for it.  However what about a God who takes pleasure in tossing stones into puddles?  What about the mundane “do it again” stuff?  Praying for a friend who is troubled and who has a strong impression of God’s peace at the end of it.  The ladies from The Local going out for dinner with two friends who do not know Jesus.  The ensuing conversation those two women have with Jill on the drive home about the sense of community and kindness they feel from the group.  Personally, I relish hearing these stories: They assure me.  God’s Spirit is one day going to fill the earth as the waters cover the sea, but even now he is filling the nooks and crannies, the dips and hollows, the dried out creek beds, all in anticipation of that glorious day.

written by Steve