Yesterday while I was working out in my shop, I was sanding on some trim and my thoughts went to Jeremiah where God sent him to the potter's house.
From those thoughts the Lord showed me that His people are like the 1X4's that I was working on.
He showed me that those 1X4's are the cheapest boards you can buy in a lumber yard. They are the roughest, most bent and usually the weakest boards because they have many knots which can make them weak.
As well, when someone goes out to buy 1X4's, they buy them to do a job which is meaningless and not to do anything of greatness.
Myself, I think that a 1X4 makes beautiful trim and the Lord showed me that when I go to that lumber pile to choose out my wood I picked the lumber which, even though it was rough, chipped and maybe a little bent, I could see the beauty underneath and could see the ones that can be used and straightened.
He showed me that by sanding, washing the wood and then resanding it to make it smooth was the first step to make it what I wanted it to be. After that I stained it, varnished it, resanded it and put on the final coat of varnish. Only after that is the true beauty brought out and is it ready to be put in the place where it belongs.
We, as His people, are the ones who most would say was too bent, scarred or ugly to be of any use and to be rejected for anything of any value. But God Who is the Builder of the house has a right to chose the type of wood He uses for His trim and He can see the beauty of the 1X4's under all the scars and in all the knots. If God were to sand out all the scars and the knots He would leave the board weak. Rather He gets it smooth, washes it down to open the pores back up and resands it.
Then He stains the board with the pure blood of His Son which covers over the board but it also brings out the beauty of the imperfections in His board. His Word says He gives us beauty for ashes and His Word says we will glory in our infirmities. Even though there may be sin in our lives, Christ's blood will cover it and all the things that are our weaknesses, just as those knots, God can and will use them for His Glory.
Finally God varnishes over His board with His Holy Spirit and He makes us to shine with His Glory.
But just like a single board doesn't show the beauty of the house or the ability of the carpenter. Only when all the boards are assembled in their proper places then is the carpenter glorified.
I don't believe God would have us to judge the beauty of His boards until He is finished with them. He may not be finished until the day we are assembled with Him in His house.
If we judge one another what we are doing is taking the sander out of God's hands and we start sanding on the knots or scars to get them out and we end up leaving the 1X4 weak. What we should do when we see a knot, is start pleading the blood of Christ over it, so God can bring out the true beauty which is victory over that sin.
My Uncle George wrote that out a few minutes ago. I liked it so much I thought I would share it. I provided the entry title. It is, in no way, connected to the entry's content.--Robyn |
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