Day 25: May 29Scripture: Matthew 25:14-30 Several years ago, I was on a mission trip to the Child Rescue Center in Sierra Leone, Africa, working with the children who had lost their parents to the many wars and revolutions that have plagued the nation. We were digging irrigation ditches, and pouring concrete. The only wood available for the forms was some beautiful African mahogany which happened to be available at the time. One particular board caught my eye. It was dirty, covered in concrete, and ready to be thrown away. When I looked closely, I noticed a unique and beautiful grain pattern. I cleaned it up, cut it to fit in my suitcase, and brought it home. We were in the process of making a new cross for our sanctuary, so I gave it to a woodworker in our congregation. He saw the beauty within the wood, cut it just right, and now it sits at the center of our new cross. Whenever we look at that cross in worship, we are drawn to a God who “makes all things new!” We remember the children of the world who, like that piece of wood, are ready to be thrown away. We are reminded that within each child there is a beautiful, though often hidden underlying grain which God has created. He now calls us to call forth that grain. Our parable of the talents reminds us that our individual congregations are also like that piece of wood. Sometimes we don’t feel critical to the kingdom, perhaps even tossed aside. But God’s grain is still within and God’s call to the church remains unchanged. Every congregation has the opportunity to become a multiple talent church with worth and potential which the master desires to be invested, not buried in the ground. Our prayer is that every congregation would take the time to see the beautiful grain within and offer ourselves to a new work of the Spirit so that our churches, just as the children of Sierra Leone, might be made new! Prayer: Lord, we confess that for all too long we have seen our congregation only through the problems and struggles. Show us the beauty of the grain that is within our community. Give us the courage to offer ourselves to you, that this life giving pattern might shine forth. Give us the desire to invest our congregation in your new work, and not bury your talents in the ground. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen. Peter M. Moon |