Photo by Matt Hardy on Unsplash
Once upon a time…that’s how plenty of good stories start – and I want to share one with you to round out the year.
It’s a story called Tremendous Trifles. It’s about two little boys who were met by a milkman. He happened to be a fairy, who awarded both boys a wish. The first boy, Paul, always wanted to be a giant. He longed to travel the world. Once his wish was granted, he strolled across the ocean to visit the Himalayas. But he found it unimpressive, quite small, and silly looking. After, he went over to Niagara Falls. When he arrived, he found it was no bigger than the faucet on his bathtub. He then spent some time trying to find something really large – but he found everything really small, until out of sheer boredom, he laid down in some prairies and fell asleep.
The other boy, Peter, oddly enough made the exact opposite request. He long wanted to be really small, so the milkman produced his wand and granted him his wish. When the transformation was complete, he found himself in the midst of an immense plain, covered with a tall green jungle. Toward the middle of the prairie stood up a mountain of such romantic and impossible shape, yet of such stony height and dominance, that it looked like some incident of the end of the world. And far away on the faint horizon he could see the line of another forest, taller and yet more mystical still. He set out on his adventure across the colored plain; and he has not come to the end of it yet.
I hope you see something obvious in the story. It’s something that takes time to see – but if you slow down enough, you will.
Starting out the new year is a time many of us try out new adventures, resolutions, and rhythms. We set goals, expectations, and plans. Here’s one that we can’t afford to skim past – meeting God through His Word, prayer, and shared life with your brothers and sisters, friends, and neighbors. These might not seem like visits to the Himalayas, but there are new heights and depths to explore and experience when we meet Him in the ordinary ways He’s called us to. When we get small enough to listen and linger, we will find extraordinary delight.
Jeremiah 2:13 tells us – “For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.
Every January, our Mosaic Students spend a few weeks making our way through Passage. These next 4 weeks we will be talking about the what - the how - and the why behind spiritual disciplines. These practices are not just for the young in the faith or the youth among us. They are for all of us. But here is my encouragement to you as you make plans for the new year – don’t skim your way through them.
We are so accustomed to rushing our Christian life — checking off our spiritual to do list as fast and efficiently as possible. But when we do, we may find ourselves stepping away from the fountain of living water and settling for broken cisterns instead.
Don’t get too big for your Bible, for prayer, for evangelism, for worship. If you do – boredom will come. And if you’re bored – try splashing around in the Fountain again. It’ll never run dry.
