WHAT DOES THE INTERNET WANT? FAME & FORTUNE! WHEN DOES THE INTERNET WANT IT? NOW! Two weeks ago I discussed the parable of the the seed in the good soil. Matthew puts both the parable of the good soil and the mustard seed parable nearly next to one another, with only the parable of wheat separating them. I believe the two belong with one another, and the mustard seed can be understood in light of the good soil. As it stands, there is little that can be done about the kingdom in Heaven. Our focus should be on the earthly kingdom. It is God's Kingdom on Earth we can work on. There are those who have tried to root that kingdom on the internet. The goal is for our small act will be like a mustard seed, and our actions will grow into a great shrub; a tree. The problem is the soil most of us dig ourselves into: Some of us fall on the path: In other words, we start a blog or fix our church website because we see everyone else doing it. "Oh, he/she is doing it. I'm going to do it too." They fail almost immediately, because their purpose isn't God, but self. They don't want to put the time into it. They don't want to really work. People who try to plant the kingdom on the internet just to follow the crowd will fall the quickest. Some of us fall on the rocky ground: These are the ones who come with an open spirit, but none of the follow through. Many of us who have been around awhile can name them. These are the ones who see the need and plant, but, for whatever reason, end up quitting after a few months. (Maybe even a year.) They can't dig in deep. I have seen churches who put all their eggs online. Six months later, their website looks the same. I have seen bloggers who jump into their new blogs and do a really good job keeping up with weekly or bi-weekly posts. Six months later the effort is gone and a subscriber would be lucky to see a post once a month. Some of us fall among the thorns: These are the ones who lose their focus and are chocked by following plans that are not God's. Right when Fig Tree started up I kept seeing "last blogs." These were people who were hanging their metaphorical hat, and giving up. In every one I read the same thing: "What I wanted when I started, and what this has become are two different things." There are just those who get off purpose. Some of us land in good soil: If you see a Christian on the internet who appears to be following God's call and producing good fruit, let them know. It takes a long time for that small mustard seed of a call to grow into a tree. They need the encouragement. They need to feel wanted. (Birds nest in its branches.) The Kingdom is unfulfilled until relationship happens.
|
Categories
All
Archives
October 2023
|
RSS Feed