{"id":607,"date":"2011-01-11T19:00:26","date_gmt":"2011-01-12T00:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/smalltownamerica\/?p=607"},"modified":"2012-01-10T10:44:34","modified_gmt":"2012-01-10T15:44:34","slug":"where-the-ivy-grows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/smalltownamerica\/2011\/01\/where-the-ivy-grows.html","title":{"rendered":"Where The Ivy Grows"},"content":{"rendered":"

Have you ever noticed that ivy grows in areas that have seen no recent activity?\u00a0 This silo has been standing empty for years and now can barely be recognized because of\u00a0the ivy.\u00a0 Ivy in some places is beautiful, but almost always needs to be left undisturbed to grow in fullness.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Ivy often grows up the sides of old houses or stores.\u00a0 Of course most of these places have not recently been washed, sand blasted or painted.\u00a0 I have not had much luck growing ivy.\u00a0 I always seem to disturb it before it gets a good hold on the surface.<\/p>\n

Mold grows on old bread.\u00a0 Moss grows on stationary\u00a0stones.\u00a0 Ivy grows on neglected buildings.\u00a0 What grows on dormant Christians?\u00a0 What makes a Christian dormant?<\/p>\n

Whenever something becomes self centered and self absorbed, it will go dormant.\u00a0 When it is more interested in being self serving, than contributing to the greater good, it loses its purpose.\u00a0 Whether we talk about people or inanimate objects, the same is true.\u00a0 If a bike is not ridden, it will rust and eventually be useless.\u00a0 If a house is left in disrepair, it will deteriorate and become unsafe to live in.\u00a0\u00a0 If a person, Christian or not, becomes self absorbed and stops caring about others, they too will end up useless.<\/p>\n

God never intended us to sit around and contribute nothing to the building of the kingdom.\u00a0 I don’t think He meant for any of us to be spiritual couch potatoes.\u00a0 Matthew 5:16 says, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works,and\u00a0 glorify\u00a0your Father\u00a0which is in heaven.”<\/p>\n

James 2:14-17 also talks about faith and works going hand in hand.\u00a0 One without the other is useless.\u00a0 We all have a purpose and a calling that was determined before we were born into this world.\u00a0 It is our responsibility to find that and pursue it with all our hearts.\u00a0 We cannot allow ourselves to stay dornment and let the world pass us by.\u00a0 Soon we will be overgrown with spiritual moss and ivy.\u00a0 The we will be of no use to anyone, not even ourselves.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Have you ever noticed that ivy grows in areas that have seen no recent activity?\u00a0 This silo has been standing empty for years and now can barely be recognized because of\u00a0the ivy.\u00a0 Ivy in some places is beautiful, but almost always needs to be left undisturbed to grow in fullness. Ivy often grows up the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":420,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[5,19,39],"class_list":["post-607","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-inspiration","tag-compassion","tag-faith","tag-spiritual-growth"],"yoast_head":"\nWhere The Ivy Grows - Small Town America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/smalltownamerica\/2011\/01\/where-the-ivy-grows.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Where The Ivy Grows - Small Town America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Have you ever noticed that ivy grows in areas that have seen no recent activity?\u00a0 This silo has been standing empty for years and now can barely be recognized because of\u00a0the ivy.\u00a0 Ivy in some places is beautiful, but almost always needs to be left undisturbed to grow in fullness. 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