When God belabors a metaphor.
This week I'm returning from the CAFO summit 2021. (Christian Alliance For Orphans). Every year, as this conference approaches, I warn my friends... I prepare my family... I steady myself.
"This is gonna be a tough week."
So I pray up, because I'm expecting to renew my commitment to vulnerable children. I'm expecting to sit with people from hard places and hear about what they've been through. It's an emotionally exhausting, beautiful, intensely raw and heart wrenching week of being together with those who care about the same things I care about. But, in many cases, I walk away feeling small. I haven't accomplished what these heroes have accomplished. I feel like a fraud because I haven't adopted 27 kids from a juvenile detention center.
So when Jason Webber (author of Until There's More than Enough) https://www.amazon.com/Until-Theres-More-Than-Enough/dp/1625861699/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=more+than+enough+jason+weber&qid=1632055996&sr=8-1
shared this parallel with us, it was just what I needed. Potty Humor!
There are these goats... Moroccan goats. And they climb trees. Jason says, "when I saw these Moroccan tree climbing goats, I thought of you... the ones who are gathered here, to care for vulnerable kids because they love Jesus!". He goes on to explain that these goats remind him of "us" because:
1. They look ABSURD. When the average person hears about a church who reversed the foster care crisis in their county... or a family who opens their home to 2 infants when they already have 3 very small children ... the average person thinks that sounds crazy. And secretly we think, "That's not me. Those are special people with special callings." Don't get me wrong, no doubt about it, that's a special calling... and a willingness to look completely insane goes along with that... But I believe we all have a special calling. What if all we had to do is say, "YES"and God would unfold before us his plan for our special brand of crazy. I'm starting to discover that huge, spectacular, miraculous things only happen when regular people are willing to do slightly weird things. And listen, a goat might look silly up a trees, but God actually designed his legs to be able to do that!
2. They know the fruit is worth the climb. These goats climb trees to get to the sweet juicy fruit at the end of the branches. Just like those who serve our community, supply much needed items just in time, and prayerfully connect with families... we aren't oblivious to the work involved. But we recognize the value of the fruit we are after. When we love our neighbors, when we put effort into loving them well, we acknowledge the value of the one we are serving. We say to our community (all the other goats), "Trust me. I know this looks difficult, but the reward of knowing and loving God's children is worth the undertaking."
3. We may never know the treasure we are leaving behind. Here's that potty humor I promised. These goats climb trees after a specific fruit...the argan fruit. Inside the argan fruit is a very hard nut which holds luxurious argan oil. ( I put that in my hair). Local Moroccan farmers have discovered that the nut is much easier to process for the oil if the goat has already digested it and softened it for them... In other words, while these goats are really only interested in harvesting the fruit at the top of the trees, they unknowingly "drop" something of great value behind them in the process. As we serve our neighbors, with one goal in mind, we may never know who else we are blessing. God has designed such interconnected and abundant life!!!
May the Lord lead us. May He make us look absurd if it brings glory to His name. May he remind us of the value of the fruit we climb for. May He use us to cause lasting ripple effects and leave treasure behind every time we connect.
"May the Lord give strength to his people! May the Lord bless his people with peace." Psalm 29:11
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