A Future Not Our Own

I've been chipping away at the over-abundance of emails in my inbox; and one gem I discovered while doing so is this poem, which I originally heard in April 2008 in a sermon preached by the then-pastor of Weavers Mennonite Church, Jeff Kauffman.  I don't know much about Oscar Romero; but to his thoughts expressed in this piece, I say "yes" and "amen."

A Future Not Our Own

by Oscar Romero

It helps, now and then, to step back

and take the long view.

The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts,

it is beyond our vision.

We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of

the magnificent enterprise that is God's work.

Nothing we do is complete,

which is another way of saying

that the kingdom always lies beyond us.

No statement says all that could be said.

No prayer fully expresses our faith.

No confession brings perfection.

No set of goals and objectives includes everything.

This is what we are about:

We plant seeds that one day will grow.

We water seeds already planted,

knowing that they hold future promise.

We lay foundations that will need further development.

We provide yeast that produces effects beyond our capabilities.

We cannot do everything

and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.

This enables us to do something,

and to do it very well.

It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way,

an opportunity for God's grace to enter and do the rest.

We may never see the end results...

We are prophets of a future not our own.

~ this picture of daffodil shoots in our flowerbed seems fitting to include in this post ~