The last shape is the rectangle. It is the outcome of our efforts or our fruit. It reminds us of a stage where we perform on. It is what the audience sees after all those days of practice and rehearsals. It is like a stand that we exhibit something of value on to show others.
I thinking of outcomes it is helpful to get the spiritual perspective as well. Jesus told us in John 15 that if we abide in Him we will bring forth good fruit. Abide means to continue, dwell, endure, be present, remain, stand, tarry. In other words, if we ‘walk and talk’ with Jesus, He will help us get good results. If we don’t, we won’t – at least not have much to show for it – no fruit that remains. (see Wolf of Wall Street for a dandy bad example)
When I lived in Japan, our neighbors had a fruit orchard of biwa (kind of apricot – actually a loquat). We offered to help him as he was elderly and had a hard time taking care of it himself. When the fruit was just beginning to appear, he had us take each branch and throw away 2 of the fruits and keep 1. In this way the final fruit would be much bigger and tasty as it had all the sap flowing into it. At first, it seemed that it was a waste to throw those 2 away, but if he didn’t this farmer knew from experience that there wouldn’t be any fruit worth selling – it would all be too small and sour.
That taught me a lot about getting rid of what seems like something good for the best final result. We can only do so much, so we have to concentrate our efforts to be most effective.
In today’s world where we use computer technology a lot, it good to remember that this technology also has its limitations. Learning how to think and process and bring clarity of purpose to our lives and work is a skill we all need to hone and upgrade.
Lord, help us to have the right vision, for without it we spin our wheels or perish. Seeing through the 6 frames of purpose, accuracy, point-of-view, interest, value, and outcome is a good start. If we would make a nice round ‘7’ of this idea, we could add the shape of rest – a line. God rested on the 7th day after all of his work and in all of our thinking and doing, it is important we remember to trust in the Lord to do what we can’t; that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.
Note: In coming posts, I will be sharing chapters of the exciting and insightful book “Run to Freedom”, the true story of a runaway slave – Josiah Henson.
Bringing Home the Elixir 