It helps, now and then, to step back and take the long view.
The Kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it is even beyond our vision.
We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God's work.
Nothing we do is complete, which is another way of saying that the Kingdom always lies beyond us.
No statement says all that should be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith.
No confession brings perfection.
No pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No program accomplishes the church's mission.
No set of goals and objectives includes everything.
This is what we are about.
We plant the seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces effects far beyond our capabilities.
We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.
This enables us to do something, and to do it very well.
It may incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way,
an opportunity for the Lord's grace to enter and do the rest.
We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the master builder and die worker.
We are workers, not master builders, ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future that is not our own.
http://www.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/romero.html
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In my darkest moments of being overwhelmed and feeling like giving up, this is the thought that sustains me. There is comfort in knowing that we are part of the bigger picture although we cannot always see what it is or what will come of our work. The best we can do is have hope that something good will result.
My philosophy is this; if we try to do everything, we get nothing done. If we start somewhere, we'll at least begin to accomplish something.
It's kind of like a magic eye poster. Immeasurably frustrating until you step back, relax, and it comes into focus.
Thanks for sharing this.
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