THE SCORECARD OR THE GARDEN

John Mark Hicks' recent commentary on Denver Broncos' quarterback, Tim Tebow, is a good one. Tebow's Christian faith is the strong pro and con chatter of the sports talk shows. He is good.

Verifiably, faith has within itself an embedded nature that arouses protest from unbelievers of every corner. I am becoming even more convinced that the sweet nature of Jesus is so right based on how prohibited it is throughout the human system. The flesh just can't take it.

(Ooops...I've got a meeting at 7:00. I'll be back to finish this in a bit.)

So an hour and a half later I return from a meeting to pick up. Now where was I?

We are not to be scorecard Christians to the extent we determine how the kingdom is doing according to our victories---or the number of responses at the invitation song, the attendance at Ladies Class, or the number of baptisms for the year.

We are not called to a scorecard faith. Rather, we are to live in the garden where fruit is born.

We are to find the Holy Spirit fruit in our orchard. Oddly, the fruit is the answer or the solution to a persecuted, loser-feeling, individual who must find help in time of need. Don't you get it?

Anyone (including those who do not believe in God) can show signs of any of the fruit listed in Galatians 5 as long as everything is going in their favor; yet no one can display it under severe pressure. It must come from the Spirit for the flesh just can't be kind and patient in unfair and inflammatory failure. Without the Spirit we can't pull it off.

We must do what we can to refrain from a scorecard walk. Love does not keep records. Our move is to be one of availability to the Holy Spirit sort of fruit. Thus, our confidence is in Him although we are inadequate in the flesh...II Cor. 3:4-5.