The Platte River in Nebraska is a long, often wide, tributary of the Missouri River that played an important role on the 19th-century trails of westward expansion. In addition to its length and breadth, the river is also notoriously shallow — too shallow to ever be used as a navigation route. In 1889, journalist Edgar Nye wrote that the river “had a very large circulation, but very little influence. It covers a good deal of ground, but it is not deep. In some places it is a mile wide and three-quarters of an inch deep.” Some attribute our modern phrase “a mile wide and an inch deep” to Nye’s account. Whenever that observation is made — whether in politics, academia, or life — it’s not meant to be a compliment!
It describes a common condition of our time. We are driven to constant acquisition — to have a little more of everything we think will bring peace or security. This insatiable hunger for more infects our Christian lives and churches, too. Confronted by the powerful challenges, questions, and worries of life, we assume the answer will be found in “more.”
Deep down, though, we know that more is not enough. We can learn more about the Bible but never grow in relationship to the One to whom it points. We can add members by the score to the church rolls but never cultivate authentic, life-giving fellowship. We can add projects to our mission to-do list without ever truly knowing and loving the community we serve. We end up with the dissatisfying — even discouraging — sense that we’re living “a mile wide and an inch deep.” If there is no deepening of spirit and relationships, life can have, in Nye’s words, “very large circulation, but very little influence.”
Have you ever found yourself spiritually hungry — aware of a deep inner yearning that more simply cannot meet? The good news is that Christians have a treasury of wisdom and practices for cultivating the relationship that sustains growing faith in God. As we were taught to sing as children, our life in Christ is deep and wide!
In our September Wednesday night studies (September 6, 13, 20, and 27) at 6:15 in room 307, Jane Williams will lead a study exploring elements of Christian spiritual formation and the transforming journey that deepens our relationship with God, nourishes our soul, and enriches our community and world.
Won’t you join us on a journey toward the fulfillment of Paul’s prayer for the church of Ephesus — and for Yates Baptist Church: “I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge — that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” (Ephesians 3:17-19)
What a wonderful time to be the church together!
Grace and Peace,