Ever watched someone when they are beginning to cook, clean, draw, or build something? All you see is a disorganized and confusing mess since it does not yet resemble what they said it will be. Later, you come back and see the finished product and the method to their madness makes sense. This is how your life is in Christ. To others, even to yourself, your life may look confusing…disorganized…a chaotic mess. Jesus said in John 8:32 (KJV), “And you shall know the Truth and the Truth shall make you free.” Once you come to know God – to have a spiritual relationship with Him – you’ll understand Jesus IS the Truth that makes you into His divinely created life He says you are. When you look back at the making, you’ll appreciate the method to His madness and thank Him for it.
To “make” means to create by shaping, changing, or combining material; to cause to exist; to happen or become. I remember times when I was in the kitchen making dinner for my family and my children coming in with hunger-in-hand, only for it to be filled with disappointment. Once, the counter was jammed with various ingredients: sweet potatoes, eggs, brown and white sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla extract, milk, and flour. As usual, my children see a big mess needing to be cleaned up and put in the refrigerator or pantry. However, I see the finished dish simply requiring a little more time and work to come together.
Each step of this recipe requires focus and effort. The potatoes have to be peeled, and all the other necessary ingredients have to be added. Each step is necessary for the finished product to come out delicious! Before the food is done, my children can already smell it…the sweet, savory aroma wafts around the house, up the stairs, permeating through the walls and into the children’s rooms. With mouths watering, they scurry downstairs, their noses leading them directly into the kitchen. Peeking in the oven window they no longer see the “mess”, but what I’d seen all along – one of their favorite dishes – sweet potato casserole topped with a pecan and brown sugar crumble.
You may look at yourself, or what you are going through, and all you see is pain, doubt, failure, disappointment, hurt, sorrow, fear, rejection, and betrayal. The list of negative ingredients could go on and on. Ultimately, it’s a big mess on the counter you call your life. God, who can look beyond who you have been, who you are today, and who you will be tomorrow, only sees His creation – His workmanship in Christ Jesus for good works. (Ephesians 2:10) You just need more time, a little work, and a whole lot of Jesus to conform to His Godly image of you. Give the Lord your grocery list of negative ingredients, stirring in faith, patience, obedience, and trust in Him… “seeking first the Kingdom of God and all His righteousness, then all things – joy, peace, love, victory, deliverance, strength and endurance, spiritual and monetary blessings – He will add to you. (Matthew 6:33)
Now, look at yourself through God’s oven window. You no longer see the “mess” of a person, but what the Truth has made you – His masterpiece.
