Print This PostUncovered!
Today, Larry and I finished the majority of the destruction of the prior CON-struction at his farm. This is an old farmhouse that has slowly evolved into a newer, old farmhouse. Additions, siding, enclosures, reinforcments; all conributing to the structure that stands today. Hear is the problem: everything that has occurred in the life of this house has only added to the original structure, it hasn’t replaced it. So, when you get ready to change something about the house, most of the process involves getting back to the original house, or what is left of it. After all the years of being covered up and tacked on to, the original house has continued to age, and in some cases, deteriorate out of sight. A lot of dirt and old paint and some rotten wood and rusty nails later, the house is about ready to be restored once again to it’s original glory. YEAH!
Yes, I see some parallels in my own life-of course! Over the years I have added on to, covered over, re-modeled and been given many fresh coats of paint. And all it has done is give the appearance of a well-manicured 52 yr old. But, underneath all the exterior improvements and additions, the original structure is still there.
One day as I was leaving Larry’s, he called me Harvey the Destructor. He nailed me. So much destruction, so much cover-up, so little work on the original. And yet that is what God says I am. An original. A work of art. And God also says that I am a work in progress. Oh! If I would only let God have His way with me, what kind of structure would He build? Maybe I need to ask Him. Now there’s a thought.
Letting God have His way in my life can be messy. The result is worth it. Check it out.
Whom God Chooses
by Henry F. Lyte
When God wants to drill a man,
and thrill a man, and skill a man,
When God wants to mold a man,
To play the noblest part;
When He yearns with all His heart
To create so great and bold a man,
That all the world shall be amazed,
Watch his methods; watch His ways.
How He ruthlessly perfects
When He royally elects!
How He hammers him and hurts him
And with mighty blows converts him
Into trial shapes of clay
Which only God understands;
While his tortured heart is crying,
And He lifts beseeching hands!
How He bends but never breaks
When His good He undertakes.
How He uses whom he chooses,
And with every purpose fuses him;
But every act induces him
To try His splendor out –
God knows what He’s about!
Go then, earthly fame and treasure!
Come disaster, scorn, and pain!
In Thy service, pain is pleasure;
With Thy favor, loss is gain.
I have called Thee, Abba, Father;
I have stayed my heart on Thee.
Storms may howl, and clouds may gather;
All must work for good to me.
sola fide!
