photo: CCO public domain graphic: Martha G. Brady
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, (s)he is a new creation.
The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and
gave us the ministry of reconciliation;
that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself,
not counting their trespasses against them, and
entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.II Corinthians 5:17-19
Signs of growth…
Light green shoots coming off
The stems of perennials.
Fresh green pushing up from the ground
As seeds sprout.
Buds forming on plants as flowers develop.
These are all signs that growth is starting.
Repenting when I am aware that I have hurt another person.
Wanting to change the way I do relationships
So I don’t hurt them again.
These are tiny green shoots of green growth.
Grasping the forgiveness GOD has freely given me
And giving it to those who hurt me
Even when those hurts are deep. stop
Growth to the point where I know
That I have been reconciled to GOD
And now can have the ministry of reconciliation
To those in my world.
So they can enjoy the hope and refreshment of the gospel!
GOD brings Spring into my life in ways I don’t always see it,
Helping me drive away the gray and gloom in the world around me.
Growth where I know I have been reconciled to GOD And now have the ministry of reconciliation Share on X
I would love to grow some every day. My growth is slow and then bursts. The bursting is probably more noticeable to me.
i often find that to be true of myself carole. i have seen uninteresting diagram of christian growth that is probably closer to the truth than we think. rather than a straight and consistent line that goes up, it goes up a little and plateaus a bit, then moves up a bit more and plateaus again…and so on. i think it is more likely to be a truer description of the reality of our spiritual growth as it is physical growth!
by the way carole, welcome:)
I love this! Fits nicely with from a reminder I heard yesterday: Growing strong in the Lord means our paralyzing dependencies “must be broken and broken at depth.”
i like it barbara:) thanks. blessings today:)
Ah, green (and growth) is the color of hope :). I’m so glad that our growth process includes our inner life as well as our outer life–thank you for the reminder that we need to tend both ‘gardens’.
thanks anita:) blessings girl. i’ve been writing for mondays, but haven’t gotten done in time the last few weeks. my nearly done articles should be done soon. i have been in such slow motion recently:(
Beautiful! I love that 2 Corinthians text. God does bring spring into our lives, I’m so thankful for that.
thanks tara:) i wrote my first FMF, came across that scripture for the post and realized i needed a new post to go with it! ugh…so i wrote a better post and am much happier with the result!