If there's one thing I'm not, it's a handyman. I don't work well with tools. I'm the son of a carpenter but I'm more at home with The Carpenter. But last week, because I really love my wife, I embarked upon the journey of refinishing some old chairs. Now, there are some principles I learned about refinishing that coincide with Biblical principles for us as Christians. After all, Mary Lou wanted those old chairs to become as new, or at least, newer looking. And Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." A new creation? Old things have passed away? All things have become new? You want to know what the key to this verse is? It's the "in Christ" part. When we surrender to Christ we become His. We are now in His hands. 

   You should have seen those old chairs before I got hold of them. They were coming unglued, the stain had faded, they were scratched...they were downright ugly. Sounds kind of like you and me before Jesus came into our heart, right? But after hours of sanding and gluing and rubbing with steel wool, well...they were still ugly. It wasn't until I painted them with this beautiful dark walnut stain (with glossy finish) that they began to look like new. The same is true for you and me. Until we are covered with the precious blood of Jesus we are still ugly. And that's where the analogy ends, because it's after we are "stained" that the Holy Spirit begins to sand and glue and shape our lives to look more and more like the Savior's. It's through trials and tribulations or "tests" that God brings us more into His image. 

   Another important factor in refinishing those old chairs properly was to do a simple thing called "following instructions". First, I asked the expert at the paint store some of the basics concerning refinishing furniture. After buying the proper materials for preparation and the right kind of stain I then had to read the instructions on the can. You're probably thinking, "Of course you should read the instructions...duh". But how many of us ask Christ into our hearts and then rarely read the Instructions of Life, the Bible? How many of us seek godly counsel and then never follow the advice given? How many of us hear Holy Spirit inspired preaching and think it's for someone else? How many of us spend most of our prayer time talking and very little time listening to the voice of our Creator? And we wonder why our "finish" is fading? Did you know that even Christians sometimes fade? In Psalm 51 King David said it best when he had fallen into sin and no longer was shining for the Lord. He said, "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit." I’m sure Jesus was an awesome carpenter and probably made some great looking furniture, but He saved His best work for you and me. Our Savior is in the refinishing and restoring business and "He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ..." (Philippians 1:6).

Free Indeed,   Harold Watkins