While reading a book recently, the beginning of a poem by Rudyard Kipling caught my eye.
God gave all men all earth to love,
But, since our hearts are small,
Ordained for each one spot should prove,
Beloved over all.
I immediately thought of Central Asia. Our friends, the natural beauty, the slow paced and warm culture, the food (which I am craving right now); all the things we suprisingly grew to love. The only reason two small town Texas folks love these things is because God loves that land more. He is the one that has allowed Central Asia to be the place we find ’beloved over all’.
This reminded me of something our pastor said a few weeks ago. He asked for a show of hands as to how many people in the audience had all their life dreamed of living in our current city of several million. The response was laughable- maybe 10 people raised their hand out of a few hundred. No one really wanted to be there. He went on to challenge us to put down roots in this place. To see these roots as an ‘investment in hope’. Hope of the things to come in our city, our church, among our circles of influence.
I was challenged by this. Challenged to acknowledge this place as the one that God has currently ordained for me to love. If I’m not choosing to interact with my drug selling neighbors so that they can experience Christ’s love, who is? Until God leads elsewhere, I’m gonna love this place, put down roots, and as my Faith grows, my investment in Hope is bound to grow too.
“But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
whose confidence is in him.
He will be like a tree planted by the water
that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
and never fails to bear fruit.”
Jeremiah 17:7-8
******************************************************
Here are the first and last stanzas of Sussex by Rudyard Kipling. I was going to post the whole thing but it is pretty long. Sussex is a little town on England’s coast that surely is easier to love than where we live now. 
GOD gave all men all earth to love,
But since our hearts are small,
Ordained for each one spot should prove
Belovèd over all;
That, as He watched Creation’s birth,
So we, in godlike mood,
May of our love create our earth
And see that it is good.
So one shall Baltic pines content,
As one some Surrey glade,
Or one the palm-grove’s droned lament
Before Levuka’s Trade.
Each to his choice, and I rejoice
The lot has fallen to me
In a fair ground—in a fair ground—
Yea, Sussex by the sea!
Tags: Inspire, Rudyard Kipling, Sussex
March 5, 2010 at 12:04 pm |
Thank you Kaela for continuing to inspire and encourage. I needed this post today!