A painful lesson

Do you know what gorse is? It is a spiny shrub, originally from the Mediterranean region of Western Europe. It is a dense, spiny, dull grayish-green shrub that grows to about three meters (9 feet high) in most climates. It has small leaves that are generally shorter than its conspicuous (and sharp) spines. Gorse (Ulex europaeus) seed can lay dormant in the soil for up to 40 years and still germinate, it can survive fire and repeated freezing.   

This noxious plant was introduced into New Zealand by immigrants from England and Scotland, who, homesick for the sights of the “Old Country” with its neat hedgerows of gorse resplendent in its tiny yellow flowers in the summer, unwittingly unleashed an organic curse upon this southern land. Since the middle years of the 19^th century gorse has colonized the islands of New Zealand with both ease and an apparently unstoppable force. Used by farmers as windbreaks from the very early days of farming, there are now thousands of kilometers of such now unwanted barriers raging across the countryside.  

When I was a lad of eight or nine I had a painful encounter with nature’s barbwire. I had spent much of the day climbing the hills that form a natural boundary on the southeastern side of the city where I live. I had strayed far from home, and in the nature of small boys on a mission, I had lost all track of time. When the lowering sun finally alerted me to the lateness of the hour I decided that a short cut down into a deep valley was necessary.

At first the gorse that filled the valley only slightly impeded my progress and being small and wiry I easily avoided the worst of the prickly spines. However, I soon encountered the more mature gorse that formed a wall of dense, almost impenetrable plants, every one of which seemed to be determined to ensnare me, hopelessly trapping me.

As twilight settled over the valley I began to fear the worst. After what seemed hours I forced my way clear of this green hell, only to encounter yet another natural barrier to my homeward progress. A heard of bellicose heifers, no doubt attracted by my thrashing about, and pitiful cries for help, had wandered across the paddocks to investigate! I eventually arrived home, covered in a thousand deep scratches, bloodied, scared and very very dirty. Less than a week after my encounter with this nasty foreigner, the entire valley was engulfed in fire, and the gorse that had seemed so terrible was no more. My parents may have suspected me being the author of this calamity, but that was one misdemeanor that I was innocent of.

Since that time I have avoided gorse like the plague, and even today, whenever I walk the hills, a hundred time saving shortcuts could never induce me to relive a very painful experience! Lessons that leave a lasting imprint upon us are often painful, and usually very necessary…We can be alarmingly slow to learn; sadly we seem destined to repeat many of those lessons innumerable times, until finally the message sinks in to our cerebral matter! 

Sinai Wilderness

The ancient nation of Israel spent forty years wandering in the Wilderness because they failed to learn from, and obey God. Many times Moses was required to tell the people that were, according to God, “stiff-necked”. What a rebuke. 

And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiff-necked people. Exodus 32:9

The word translated as stiff-necked is qâsheh pronounced kaw-sheh' and it means, obstinate, stubborn, difficult to control, hardhearted. 

Our tendency to want to be our own “masters” and in the words of the old song, “do it my way” has led to more grief and hardship than almost any other human activity. God is looking for a people who willingly comply with His will, and walk in faith. Why is this so difficult?

We still suffer from the same neck problems that condemned the Israelites to endless circling in the desert; what should have been a twenty-day march became a burdensome trek that saw a generation perish on the very borders of the Promised Land. I have watched many brothers and sisters over the years struggle with their inability to walk as God desires simply because they want to do “their own thing”. I have struggled with this myself… and if you are anything like me, you have as well.

Paul said, in his letter to the Romans…  “For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, the just shall live by faith”. Romans 1:17

He repeated this idea in Corinthians… “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” 2 Corinthians 5:7

We can avoid neck problems and the need for repeated, painful lessons if we learn to walk by faith!