Lessons from a tractor seat.

The other day I spent several hours bush hogging a part of our pasture that had grown up in weeds and briers. For those who don't know what bush hogging is, it is mowing down high weeds and small saplings with an over-sized mowing deck attached to the back of a tractor. A pasture can be transformed in a matter of hours by bush hogging. The challenge comes in when you have a pasture like ours. It has a pretty good slope to it and has small gullies in it. And there is always the occasional rock or branch that gets in the way. My time spent on the tractor is often time where I have the chance just to think. Hours of bush hogging gave me plenty of time to do just that. As I reflected on the time spent mowing down weeds, I couldn't help but see the comparison to a person's spiritual life. So here are a few lessons from a tractor seat for your walk with Christ.

Watch out for holes!
If you hit a hole or the edge of a steep gully you can do some real damage to your tractor or bush hog. You could even flip the tractor and possibly be killed. Those holes (temptations, sins, etc.) we find in our spiritual walk are ones that can do plenty of damage. They will damage our relationships, our bodies, and ultimately our witness. We need to watch out for them and avoid them with Christ's help.

Don't look back!
If you look back while bush hogging you can easily have debris thrown at you or even into your eyes. When you look back you also don't see what is coming up, like a tree branch smacking you in the face (just trust me on that one). Jesus mentions this idea of not looking back in Luke 9:62. When we take time to look back at what we leave behind to walk with Christ we are doomed to fall. Looking back can only cause us problems as we move forward. We need to continue looking and moving forward in our walk.

Don't get discouraged by slow progress!
After I had been bush hogging for about 45 minutes I felt like I wasn't making any progress. Things were progressing much slower than I wanted. By staying at it, that slow progress eventually translated into several acres cleared. We generally don't want to wait on spiritual growth, but sometimes God has to help us grow more slowly. That slower progress of growth in our life will result in a greater accomplishment in our lives. Through this growth God can strengthen our faith and ultimately bring glory to His name.

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