STALE AS SEVEN-DAY-OLD BREAD

That ye might walk worthy of the Lord

unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every

good work, and increasing in the

knowledge of God.

Colossians 1:10

My Grandma had come for an afternoon visit.  I was about five years old at the time, but this is one of those Norman Rockwell scenes that stays in one's mind.  She had broken a hip several weeks earlier.  I had never been around someone who walked with crutches and  I found that to be fascinating.  Our house had a good sized pantry with a window in it that let in lots of sunshine.  Grandma went into the pantry to get some cornbread for a snack.  When she found it, she called out to my Mother, "This cornbread is as stale as seven-day-old bread."  I didn't know what stale was, but knew from that exchange that it wasn't good. 

I'll never forget what Grandma did next.  She sent me to get a big iced tea glass from my Mother.  Meanwhile, she cut a big piece of that stale cornbread and crumbled it in the tall glass.  She got sugar out of a canister and spooned some on top of the cornbread.   Then my Mother brought in a glass bottle of milk.  Grandma poured milk on the cornbread until the milk came to the top of the glass.  She took an iced tea spoon from a drawer and began to eat that mixture.  She gave me a bite of it and I didn't like it, but she ate it like I would eat a dish of ice cream.  I will always picture her leaning against the cabinet facing the sun that seemed to make her gray hair shimmer while eating her mixture of whatever.

Grandma made something that was good to her out of something that may have seemed useless to anyone else.  As I thought of this incident, I kept coming back to the word "stale".  When something is stale it's something perishable that hasn't been used for what it was intended in an expected span of time and perhaps has become dry and hard. 

Guess what?  Our spiritual life is never meant to become stale.  There's no date of expiration on our walk with the Lord and our maintaining a life that is spiritually strong but a staleness can still set in that can render us all but useless for a time. Paul wrote to the Colossians regarding his desire for them in their relationship with the Lord.  In Colossians 1:10,  Paul presented the Christian life as being a very active one, and not an activity that is something with no depth.  When we don't maintain our spiritual walk, we are of about as much use as seven-day-old bread.

I have felt very convicted along this line as of late.  I will use the usual excuse most give, "I've been pretty busy."  Oh, I haven't totally neglected my spiritual walk, but I have been neglectful in spots.  As a Sunday school teacher, I always fight the tendency to read my Bible with teaching in mind and not in thinking of personal application. 

Today while sitting in my special place by the stream, Colossians 1:10 about knocked me over.  It was a real inventory time as I viewed the three major areas of that verse with regard to my own spiritual life.  Paul had strong desires for the people he was writing to, which carries over to us in our day.  God has the same desire for us today.  There are three major things mentioned in this one verse that are vital if our spiritual life is to remain fresh.  (Believe me, I'm not just throwing this in your court.  I am still going over these things for myself.)

1.  "That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing..."

Looking at Greek meanings for the word "walk," I found that it can mean making ones way, progressing, or making use of opportunities.  Walking is movement...it is usually the process of taking steps, one by one, moving forward toward a desired end.  The word "walk" here indicates constant motion, a consistency in our walk with the Lord that is very pleasing to Him.  Walking takes a personal determination, time and effort which in the end renders us spiritually healthy.  As we walk in Christ, we become stronger in Him and He is happy about that.

2.  "...being fruitful in every good work,"...

As a Christian, I am to be productive.  I am to be a witness for the Lord which can occur through spoken words as well as through a life lived.  Any contribution you and I can make through our word or service for the Kingdom is fruit.  Fruit doesn't just happen.  Seeds are planted, seedlings are watered and tended.  I may not reap the fruit from a seed I plant, but only be a part of the process.  I am called to be a fruit-bearing Christian and that's a part of who I am to be as a follower of Jesus.

3.  "...and increasing in the knowledge of God."

If we have been Christians for many years, we may get to the point where we feel we know about God as much as we can know.  Sure, we can gather alot of facts.  That's one kind of knowing but those facts don't mean that I really KNOW Him.  I know alot about the life of Billy Graham but I've never met him and don't know him personally.  It's a different kind of "know."  My knowledge about God should contribute to my personal relationship with Him.  I will never come to fully know God but I should be so abiding in Him that my knowledge is very personal.  Ours isn't meant to be a pursuit of frustration.  Our seeking to know God is meant to be an ongoing pursuit of love.

By the way, read verses 11-14 in that same chapter where there is more information regarding our wonderful Heavenly Father.

 We can become as spiritually stale as a seven-day-old loaf of bread.  We can even go on looking good spiritually to others.  After all, a stale loaf of bread on a cabinet shelf looks like a regular loaf of bread until opened or touched and then the real problem is revealed.  May we be ever fresh in our relationship with the Lord.  As for myself, when I become spiritually stale (and hopefully that doesn't happen with regularity), I pray God will help me learn that in my repentance, He'll turn my staleness into something that is a blessing  just like Grandma's concoction was for her.

Dear Father...I love you and want to know you better than I've ever known You in the past.  May I love being in Your presence whether in prayer or contemplative meditation.  Keep me alert to Your still, small voice as You seek to lead me in the ways that please you.  Forgive me for ever allowing a spiritual staleness to set in...keep me fresh.        Amen.