Good morning…
Remember the hard labor I experienced last month? I felt like I was birthing a 12-pound baby as I delivered into the world the manuscript for this year’s Advent devotional entitled With God Weather Life. Well, since I pushed the words into this world, we fine-tooth-combed her full head of hair and took gorgeous black and white photos to grace her pages. Then we sent her off to be printed.
Arriving in cardboard boxes last week, our one manuscript birthed a litter of 750 baby Advent books, and the short morning messages will become the Advent blog posts for our online community from December 1st to December 25th (unless you tell me you want your email address excluded from this opportunity).
Remember Jesus teaching us about God’s process of organic growth? “Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds” (John 12:24, NIV). When the mammoth manuscript fell out of me, it stopped being a single seed. Now it has become 750 baby books, before it becomes December’s daily devotional for over 1,000 subscribers across God’s globe. God’s multiplication process is fascinating, so fascinating to witness with wonder.
Before leaving earth for heaven, Jesus tells his Father, “In the same way that you gave me a mission in the world, I give them (you and me) a mission in the world” (John 17:18, MSG). As he walked the shores of this world, Jesus drew inward to weather life in ONEness with God, allowing the single seed of his earthly life to fall to the ground, dead, before multiplying into abundantly more. Now that “abundantly more” lives on and on in the everyday life of you and me. Don’t you remember Jesus’ promise? “The person who trusts me will not only do what I’m doing but even greater, because I, on my way to the Father, am giving you the same work to do that I’ve been doing. You can count on it” (John 14:12, MSG).
Let God’s multiplication continue!
…Sue…
P.S. For those in the Atlanta area, I will be speaking about the life-giving lessons learned from my collection of these broken shells, and I will introduce you to the work of a local artist whose mission is also creating beautiful gifts from the remnants of broken shells. Come join us for our Women’s Advent Communion Service and Luncheon next Wednesday from 11:00 to 12:30 pm in the Northside Church chapel. No reservation required. Bring your friends.
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