Is It Obvious?
by Malcolm Wood
Gardening is not on the top of my list of favourite activities, but like so many other things it needs to be done. So it was that a little while ago I found myself weeding in the garden at Blairmore. These days, because my back doesn’t allow me to bend as I would like, I find it easier to get down on my knees to reach things at ground level. At this time of the year the grass never seems to get dry so I was kneeling on a kneeling pad to protect my knees. At some stage during this time my knees must have strayed from the pad because when I stood up there were two very large damp patches on my trousers where I had been kneeling. It was obvious to everyone that looked that I had been on my knees.
This incident caused me to think about the times we as Christians spend either actually or figuratively `on our knees` as we pray. I was challenged by the following thoughts-. When we have spent time in this way, is it evident to those around us? Do such times with the Lord make us any different? When we emerge from our `prayer closet` or whatever, do we display anything of the character and nature of the one we have been with? Or are we unchanged, continuing to grumble, criticise, and speak negatively?
Jesus warned us against making a public show of our personal prayer times (Matthew 6:5) emphasising the significance of quiet times with the Lord in private. There are however numerous examples in scripture of the difference such a personal encounter with the Lord can make in the life of an individual. Shouldn`t the time we spend with the Lord also make a difference in our lives to such an extent that others can see?
After Moses had spent time alone with God on the mountain, he was affected in a way that he couldn’t hide. ‘When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord. When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him’ (Exodus 34:29-30).
The words of an old Sunday school chorus perhaps capture the prayer that should be on all our hearts – ‘
"Let it be seen that with thee I have been,
Jesus my Lord and my Saviour.
Let it be known I am truly Thine own,
By all my speech and behaviour." Amen.
Malcolm Wood and his wife Anna became part of the Ellel family as House Managers at Ellel Grange in 1990. Since then they have been involved with many aspects of the developing Ministry. From 2001 until 2015 they were Directors of Ellel Scotland where they hosted several International Schools and Operation Blairmore and helped pioneer the exciting Creative Inspiration Weeks. They have three sons.
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