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By Sharon Robertson, Lt. Colonel
There’s a weed in our yard. “A” weed now, though it had a lot of company until my sister pulled out all its fellows. Only one thing kept this particular weed from joining the others on the discard heap: it had done something special.
Somehow, unnoticed among all the other weeds, it had worked its way through the middle of a 12-inch-high stone, growing thicker and taller until it actually split the stone in half. It apparently didn’t take long; the hill had been weeded once already this spring. The new weeds sprang up by virtue of the abundant April rains; one found a crack in what appeared to be solid rock. My brother-in-law’s favorite decorative rock is now two rocks.
When Jesus called his disciples to gather around him, it was always for a purpose. Every word, every action, was designed to fit them to serve God competently and faithfully in any situation. His methods included instruction and training in how to apply the mind of God in their decision-making, in their view of others, in knowing when to come on strong and when to be meek and tender in dealing with others. It was a training of body, mind and spirit.
He taught them to find security in God, rather than in material things. He taught them to pray. He taught them a new set of values, and challenged them to new heights. He demonstrated what it means to truly forgive; he also taught them not to gloss over the effects of sin, but to confront self-deception with truth, and to be able to accomplish that potentially threatening confrontation with love and acceptance of the individual. He not only taught them to love their neighbor, but also to love their enemies!
He equipped them, he encouraged them, he empowered them—giving them authority to come before the Father in his name—and he sent them out, saying, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:18-20 NAS).
Jesus gathered his disciples, equipped them, trained them and sent them out to do the seemingly impossible. And through mighty acts of faith, they did.
It seems impossible that a weed could grow and split a large stone, but it can. We forget the tremendous force the growing weed exerts; we are surprised at what it can do.
A “Gathering” such as that in the Western Territory is a part of Jesus’ design to recruit, train, inspire, equip and send out revitalized troops into the field to do the seemingly impossible. And through mighty acts of faith, the seemingly impossible can and will be done. There is nothing that God could accomplish through those early disciples that he has not the power to accomplish in the here and now. I don’t need to remind you, but I love repeating it, so bear with me: With God, nothing is impossible.
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