Grapes and Other Gray Areas...
Wednesday, April 16, 2008 at 5:40AM 
Greetings, Dear Friends!
Susie Larson here...
And to those visiting, I say welcome!
I post every Wednesday and my sole purpose is to nourish your soul along the way.
If you take the time to post on my blog in April, you may win a $10.00 gift card to Caribou, Target, OR Dairy Queen! Your choice. So drop me a note and say hi!
Now on to my topic...
It was about this time of year, about seven years ago, when my then, ninth grade son, was invited to a week-long intense discipleship training (known as IDT) which was scheduled to start the day after the last day of school.
The planners planned for this event to start bright and early on the first day of summer vacation. They wanted to train the students who wanted to be there; who made the commitment to be there.
One minute Jake was sure he was supposed to go, but then he'd go to school and hear his friends talk about all of their summer plans and he'd come home with a changed mind.
Back and forth he went.
My strong sense was that I was supposed to guide him from a distance and allow this decision to be his.
The day came, school was out, and vacation mode had kicked in.
My hands were immersed in dish water and dirty dishes when Jake approached me, "Mom, I was invited to sleep at my friend's house tonight. I really want to go but I kind of feel like I'm supposed to go to IDT too. I don't know what to do."
Drying my hands off I turned to him and said, "Jake, as a Christian you will notice that there are a thousand 'Christian' things you can be a part of, but you're only called to be a part of some of them. You have to decide, is this one of those things? How about if you go to your bedroom and spend an hour praying and asking God what He thinks?" Jake did just that. And I have to admit, I prayed hard too. I really wanted him to go to IDT.
The next morning we were up bright and early and I dropped him off for his first day of intense discipleship training.
What I wasn't prepared for, was the look of him when I picked him up. He slipped in the front seat, held a white square of cloth up to his face, and wept for several minutes.
I looked a little closer at the cloth and saw the words, "N-Vow."
I pulled away from the curb and drove as Jake gathered himself and began to share what just happened.
For the first day of IDT, the instructors taught from the Old Testament book of Numbers, chapter six, verses one through four. In this passage we learn about a 'set apart' group called the Nazirites. As a testament to their sold-out commitment to the Lord, they were (among other things) never to drink alcohol.
In fact, they were asked to go even farther than that. Let's read the passage:
"If some of the people, either men or women, take the special vow of a Nazirite, setting themselves apart to the Lord in a special way, they must give up wine and other alcoholic drinks. They must not use vinegar made from wine, they must not drink other fermented drinks or fresh grape juice, and they must not eat grapes or raisins."
The message to these students wasn't about alcohol but about all of the lesser things that keep them from sold-out devotion to Christ. Since this was intense discipleship training, they were intensely challenged to look at their lives and take inventory.
The question was this, "What are the 'wine' areas in your life? What things do you dabble in that could take you down a slippery slope? Now back up a little bit. What are the 'grapes' in your life? In what ways do you go to the edge of certain things, thinking you're always in control?"
The students were deeply challenged to bring before God every lesser affection. They had a powerful time of ministry, prayer, and worship at the end of their first session. Jake was totally blown away by his encounter with God. Never before had he looked hard at the ways he has blended with the world and thought so little of it. That week changed his life.
First Samuel 15:22 provides an important and balanced perspective:
"Obedience is far better than sacrifice. Listening to Him is much better than offering the fat of rams."
This is a very important verse in light of this topic.
If we just start giving up things and making little rules for ourselves - we will turn into legalistic pharisees who will then wonder why others aren't as holy as we are.
However, when we pursue a deep and thriving relationship with God, and when we stay in step with Him, He will speak to us. He will ask for things.
Obedience is better than sacrifice, and listening to Him is everything. When we walk with Him, there will be times when sacrifice is obedience. He won't demand it, but He'll ask for it. And if we offer it, we learn anew that anything we give up for Him is rubbish compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Him.
Hebrews 12:1 challenges us to throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles...
Read these challenging and powerful words from 2 Corinthians 7:1...
With promises like this to pull us on, dear friends, let's make a clean break with everything that defiles or distracts us, both within and without. Let's make our entire lives fit and holy temples for the worship of God. More Passionate, More Responsible
Wow.
Read it again. And again. And again.
Maybe God isn't asking you for your grapes today, but maybe He's nudging you in that direction. And maybe you're wrapping your fingers around those grapes, just a little bit tighter. If that's the case, then pray, "Lord, I don't want to. Help me want to."
Take inventory before the living Lord and pray Psalm 139, "Search me O, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts; point out anything in me that offends You..."
We are on earth for a short time, and what we do here directly impacts this life and the life to come.
May we live as ones who are spoken for. May we be quick to listen and quick to obey. May we live in a manner worthy of our high calling!
Blessings to you this week!
I write a quartely Ezine. Check it out if you're interested: April Ezine
Peace, friends!
Reader Comments (11)
It was so nice to see you at the Bridging the Gap conference this year!
I agree with you, releasing those grapes is not easy at first, but then when we experience freedom from that which slows us down, then we never want to look back, don't you think?Bless you, dear~
I am WAY late on responding to your post but I just had to thank you for your post. You really have no idea how encouraging your words are to me.May God richly bless you this day!