Do You Belong to the First Church of the Zax?

Do you remember the Dr. Seuss story , 'The Zax'? This is how it reads:




(pictures from: Dr. Seuss Wiki)
(story from: Sanctuary and Serenity)

The Zax – Dr. Seuss

The day before today,
One day, making tracks
In the prairie of Prax,
Came a North-Going Zax
And a South-Going Zax.
And it happened that both of them came to a place
Where they bumped. There they stood.
Foot to foot. Face to face.


“Look here, now!” the North-Going Zax said, “I say!
You are blocking my path. You are right in my way.
I’m a North-Going Zax and I always go north.
Get out of my way, now, and let me go forth!”
“Who’s in whose way?” snapped the South-Going Zax.
“I always go south, making south-going tracks.
So you’re in MY way! And I ask you to move
And let me go south in my south-going groove.”
Then the North-Going Zax puffed his chest up with pride.
“I never,” he said, “take a step to one side.
And I’ll prove to you that I won’t change my ways
If I have to keep standing here fifty-nine days!”
“And I’ll prove to YOU,” yelled the South-Going Zax,
“That I can stand here in the prairie of Prax
For fifty-nine years! For I live by a rule
That I learned as a boy back in South-Going School.
Never budge! That’s my rule. Never budge in the least!
Not an inch to the west! Not an inch to the east!
I’ll stay here, not budging! I can and I will
If it makes you and me and the whole world stand still!”


Well…
Of course the world didn’t stand still. The world grew.
In a couple of years, the new highway came through
And they built it right over those two stubborn Zax
And left them there, standing un-budged in their tracks.

~~~~~~~

As I thought about this childhood story, I could not help but relate it to the church and Christians today. Sometimes this is how we approach God, unwilling to budge, determined to stay the course that WE planned, even if the whole world has to stand still. Of course, the world keeps on spinning, progress keeps on progressing and we keep on standing in one place, unwilling to move. As for God? Well, He is God and His direction, even though it may be the opposite of ours, is always worth the side-step or the complete one-eighty.

Oftentimes, this is how Christians approach each other. Eventually, along their spiritual journey they BUMP into another going the opposite direction, both unwavering and unwilling to side-step so that the journey may continue.

There we stand,
face-to-face,
nose-to-nose,
scowl upon scowl,
toes upon toes,
each wishing the other to move
or to even disappear,
neither giving an inch,
perhaps out of fear?

Ahh, but when we stop and look around,
and see that the world passed us by,
perhaps it is then,
we can let out a sigh,
and look to the East,
and look to the West,
discovering that yielding is
perhaps for the best.

With a humble heart
and contrite state of mind,
We take a deep breath
as we step out of our line.

With surprise we both notice,
that the earth did not end,
and even greater than that,
we made a new friend.

Though we may set our mind on one direction, never let us falter to follow after God's direction. When we choose God's way, we will never cease to be amazed and His provision is always more than enough.

Genesis 13:14-17 reads:

And the Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: “Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are—northward, southward, eastward, and westward; for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever. And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also could be numbered. Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you.”

Abandon the life of a Zax and put on the life of Christ. Follow God so that your territory may be enlarged. Many blessings to you all.