Tuesday, March 27, 2012

The Messiness of Meaningful Relationships

Today I read Proverbs 14:4, “Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox.

This verse reminds me of the old adage, “No pain, no gain,”  though I believe it cuts a bit deeper.

Last Sunday I preached a message on God’s sovereignty.
Though it is a tough topic to cover in such a short time, I knew it would be worth it. Because it is not a simple topic it could result in some messiness,
and yet it could result in people seeing and savoring God’s majesty more.
I hope that it did more of that than the former!

Though relationships with other sinful people may also sometimes be hard,
and though sometimes we may want to run away from all the messiness,
people are also worth it. They are worth the frustration, disappointments and struggles.

I am encouraged by this verse to stick with people through their messiness.
Someday, even later today(?), I may be quite messy as well.
I sure am glad God sticks with us, by His grace and love.
It would be easier not to have an oxen, and not have to clean up their mess so often, but the abundant blessings that come only through hard times would never be found.

UPDATE: Here is a good follow-up word.


(This blog is cross-posted at the ICM blog.)

1 comment:

Doug said...

Good word, Mark (and Piper!). Thanks for sharing this.