Susie Grade - Wild Flock: Seeing Gods Love and Splendor in Everyday Life

Wild Flock

Wild Flock

Seeing Gods Love and

Splendor in Everyday Life

Susie Grade

2017 Susie Grade

Wild Flock

Seeing Gods Love and Splendor in Everyday Life

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018930397

ISBN 978-1-595541246

ISBN 978-1-595541284 (eBook)

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To the people of Platt Park Church,

Y ou have touched me deeply. My heart has been shaped by your presence, your struggles, your faith, your questions, and your love. Ive seen Jesus more because of you. As your pastor, my deepest desire has never been for you to form a strong bond with me or with this church although it would be great if you did! Rather, my most earnest prayer has been that you would develop a deep, ongoing, personal connection with the Living God whose love for you has no limit. I hope you will come to know Him and experience His presence and guidance in your daily lives. I want the strongest anchor of your life to be tethered to Christ not to me, our church, or any other substitute. I pray for His grace to be guiding you, His love securing you, His voice speaking to you, and His Holy Spirit flowing through you both during the difficult storms and the stunning sunsets of your life. My job as your pastor, and our role as a faith community, is simply to point you to Christ. I hope to encourage you in the practices that strengthen your spirit. Our faith community and all of its offerings is a family for you, a spiritual gymnasium for the exercise of your soul. This is a place where you can practice growing in your faith through worship, prayer, community, communion, serving, and daily practices. Together, we are exercising the muscles of our faith, strengthening our desire for God and His kingdom to come here on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10 NIV).

Thank you for your love, for being in my life, and for being a church, my family, and a place I love to call home. Thank you for embracing Tim and I as your pastors. Serving you has been (and is!) one of the greatest joys of my life.

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christto the glory and praise of God.

(Phil 1:9-11)

All my love and far more of His,

Table of Contents

Now choose life, so that you and your children may live

(Deuteronomy 30:19)

How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.

Annie Dillard, The Writing Life

T he wild geese of Denver came from Canada and have not left, so I have a front row seat to watching geese every day as I walk our city parks and meander through the streets of our historic neighborhood. The geese make a mess, honk when they are angry, and stop traffic as they unselfconsciously cross the road at their own pace. Sometimes they sleep in the sun, or float in the water, or waddle about together.

Its a universal dream to fly like a bird, to soar on wings like eagles into the heavens. Most days I dont feel like I am soaring. I feel more like I am trudging through a swamp of emails, meetings, meal prep, and child care. Jesus points to the birds of the air as an example to follow in order for our souls to flourish when He says, Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds. (Matt. 6:26 MSG)

Flying is what you are made for. Birds in flight are a picture of freedom. The birds of the air rest and make a mess. They get angry and they sleep. And always, geese stick together in their iconic V pattern of flight. Martin Luther, in reflecting on the words of Jesus, said, Let birds become your teachers.

Birds do the work of flapping their wings in taking flight and staying aloft. They rest in the soaring, taking advantage of the air currents beneath them. Flapping and soaring, alternating between the work and the rest through their days. That is the practice of a bird in flight, and it is an invitation to us to do the same. Flapping and soaring, sacrifice and renewal, creating and resting, labor and leisure. This is what we are made for. These rhythms are food for your soul.

Our souls long to live in the freedom that these birds know. It is thrilling, dangerous, breathtaking; a non-pretending, unhurried, unimaginable life. Jesus said, Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? (Matt. 6:26)

So, are you ready to soar?

T im and I have planted raspberry bushes in three of our prior homes, although we have never lived at any of them long enough to enjoy the fruit. Now, we are thinking of planting some berry bushes again, but we dont want to jinx ourselves. Wed like to stay in this new house more than two minutes.

Gardening endeavors highlight the importance of seasons in our growth and productivity. Some Christian cultures tend to measure spiritual maturity by how much people do. The other day, someone said to me, When Im at church, I feel like a shmuck because everyone else is doing so much! But activity is not how Jesus or the Bible talks about spiritual maturity. Instead, Jesus, the friend for all seasons, promises to meet us in the drought of summers, the cold of winters, the vibrancy of springs, and the rich harvest of autumns in our lives. God does not call us to a life of busyness, but rather to a life of fruitfulness. Paul says the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control (Gal. 5:2223).

Like any garden, our hearts can produce weeds as well as fruit. If were not careful, the weeds of sin and shame will grow up in our hearts, choking out our spiritual life, and preventing us from bearing fruit (Mark 4:7). Part of our abiding fellowship with Christ means weeding the soil of our hearts. And weeding is a constant, tedious business.

The best way to get rid of weeds is to dig them up by the roots. Sometimes the roots of sin and shame run deep, have many branches, or break off beneath the surface, leading to regrowth. In the same way, we may have to deal with a particular sin more than once. Maybe many times. But were encouraged that If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). Therefore, we rest in Jesus even while we keep watch over our hearts. Whats happening in our lives that might become fertilizer for weeds? Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. (Prov. 4:23)