I was reading a devotional by Joni Eareckson Tada the other day, entitled ‘The Leaky Bucket’. In it she writes about a time on the farm as a child that she had to feed a calf, from a bucket with a definite hole in the bottom.
What she put in was fairly quickly falling out, which made feeding the calf that day a harder chore than usual.
Joni reflects that the Christian life can feel like this: one day full of the Spirit, then the next, feeling like it’s all dripped straight out.
I know what’s she’s talking about and I agree with her solution.
Fellowship.
We need our buckets topped up by other believers.
Otherwise we’re just left groping around in the dark, uncertain if we’re walking in the right direction.
No one is meant to do the Christian life alone. That’s why we regularly meet with a community of believers.
There are no lone rangers. We need each other. I need others, more than even I realise.
Christianity is about community.
Another analogy that’s often linked to the Christian life is that it’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon.
Again, I agree.
But what type of marathon is it? I actually think it’s a type that I’ve never heard of:
A relay marathon*.
As we run, we’re meant to pass the baton on.
We don’t stay in the same ministry our entire lives. We don’t always have to be the one person doing X,Y,Z. There are times when we are supposed to step down and let someone else take the baton for a bit.
It’s not just a good idea. It’s necessary.
In the Christian life, if we just leave a runner out there by themselves thinking that they’re fine, they’ve always done X,Y,Z, then maybe we’re missing something.
Maybe they’re trying to pass the baton on and we’ve never let them.
Maybe there’s a hole in their bucket and they need to take a moment to go and fix it.
Maybe you could fill up what’s lacking for them.
Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
What is God asking you to do for someone else in the fellowship?
Perhaps it’s time for a baton changeover.
Yours looking inside her bucket,
Alison
* Yes, a quick search online informed me that these do actually exist.
