“This place was empty when we arrived.”
How often have you heard some version of that? It’s the American dream. The self-made man, the business built from scratch, the idea developed in solitude. It’s the ideal of self-sufficiency. I did it myself and so should you.
FRONT RANGE FREEDOM TOUR didn’t exist before Becky and I envisioned it. We made it up. In some sense, it’s a place that was empty before we arrived.
Except, of course, it wasn’t empty at all. There’s a long, complex back story of God working through people and events to create the foundation on which the tour is built. Without those people and events, this vision and mission wouldn’t exist. Any notion that we invented this thing from scratch is preposterous.
This place was not empty before we arrived. People before us plowed ground, planted seeds, tended crops. It’s a biblical reminder:
We drink from wells we did not dig.
When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied, be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. (Deuteronomy 6:10-12)
God’s reminder: we didn’t create the blessings we enjoy. He created them first, and He worked through others who came before us to establish a foundation. He used the fruits of their labor to set the stage.
We drink from wells we did not dig.
It’s a reminder to be grateful, to God and to those who dug the wells.
It’s a reminder of our responsibility to future generations. This place wasn’t empty when we arrived. God calls us, I think, to recognize and be good stewards of what we found.
Please leave a comment here.
