Instant Gratification

    When I arrived at home yesterday afternoon, I stood on my deck to look over the two flats of zinnias and the four drift rose bushes I planted last week.  All had survived the Sunday’s rain and were doing well.  I also looked over the lawn that still showed evidence of being mowed although it was plain that another mowing was going to be needed soon.  As I marveled at what was before me, I wondered why is it that I spend as much time as I do planting, pruning, mulching, weeding, and mowing?  Of course one could argue there is the beauty of it all but I think there is an additional reason.
    In my life, I do a lot of things.  I like to think that the things that I do are good but I seldom see a finished product.  For example, sermons have the purpose of teaching, in practical terms, the way the Gospel is applied in everyday life.  Sermons answer the question, “What does God want me to do?”  On occasion, I have been told that I am a good preacher but I seldom see the results of a sermon.  I thoroughly enjoy teaching.  Bible study looks at the social, economic, political, and military realities of the times the biblical book or text was written.  The purpose of Bible study is to make sense of a text so that a dialogue can be created between the Bible and today.  I enjoy teaching, but I seldom see the end results of my teaching.  I think hospital calling is important and can be a comfort to those who are ill but I don’t see what happens when I leave the hospital room.  The same can be said for pastoral counseling.  The list could go on and on but you get the point.
    As I stood on my deck, I could say, “It is finished and it is good.”  I could see the results in the budding roses.  I could see the results as the zinnias were all in their places.  I can see the results when the lawn is newly mowed and I think to myself, You have a pretty nice yard.  As I stood on my deck, I realized one of the reasons I plant, prune, mulch, weed, etc. is because I can see the end product of my work.  I need that kind of instant gratification occasionally and it is good.
    I suspect that all of us are in the same boat.  The tasks that we have in life are good and we embrace those tasks to live.  But the end results of faithful labor are more often than not some place in the future.  For example, we have good friendships but how those friendships will work out is someplace in the future.  We raise our children using the best knowledge that we have at the time but seeing how the kids turn out is some place in the future.  Many of the projects that we assume responsibility for seem never ending.  So let me ask,  What is it that brings you instant gratification?  What in your weekly schedule do you do that allows you to say, It is finished and it is good?  What, figuratively, are your roses, zinnias, and lawn mowing?  When you finish your planting, pruning, etc. stop and admire your work.  It is God’s gift to you and it is good.
Pastor Pete