Are You Passionately Embracing or Neglecting?

Fresh Manna 2009© by Pastor Tim Burt

I was out in my garden sitting spot reading my Bible and praying this morning before I came in to write. In my little patio area surrounded by garden, I have a table to sit at and on that table a vase of flowers from my garden. I had cut and put Baby’s Breath and Zinnias in that vase because they make a beautiful combination and the Zinnias last so long. As I walked out to the table, I was reminded that they don’t last long. The water had turned green and the flowers were quite dead. The entire setting was beautiful except for that vase of dead flowers. It had suffered from my neglect.

God has something to say about neglect. He says we shouldn’t neglect His voice. We shouldn’t neglect wise counsel over our own stubborn ways. He says we shouldn’t neglect the spiritual gifts—those talents and abilities within us to touch others with His love. His word teaches us not to neglect the godly relationships that become voices and examples to keep us in check and anchored in living a life for Him. And He with great warning teaches us to be careful not to neglect our salvation—His plan to bless our life and save us from our sins through Jesus. He says don’t neglect it because if you do, how will you escape the life and its consequences you were heading toward before Jesus rescued you?

What does neglect look like? Well, it doesn’t seem bad until you look closely at things you’ve truly neglected. My vase originally looked beautiful but today it looked ugly. That’s what neglect does. Our relationship with Jesus could be a beautiful and wonderful relationship but neglect can make it feel dead. Significant relationships can suffer. The yard can start to look like an overgrown weed pile. The house can become tattered and torn. Neglect comes from the family of lazy, procrastination, and indifference. Passionately embracing and loving that which is important and good, produces something beautiful! How can we neglect and think we will get away with it? Only deception produces that kind of thinking. Know what’s right to do and ask God to strengthen you in your inner man to do it. Then stop neglecting and begin to make things beautiful! He’ll help you every step of the way! It’s His will.

Hebrews 2:3 (The Message Bible) It’s crucial that we keep a firm grip on what we’ve heard so that we don’t drift off. If the old message delivered by the angels was valid and nobody got away with anything, do you think we can risk neglecting this latest message, this magnificent salvation?

In His love,
Pastor Tim