Sanding Off the Rough Edges

As iron sharpens iron, So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.               Proverbs 27:17 NKJV

Sharpening begins with a tool hard enough to wear down the imperfections that have dulled the blade of a knife. It reminds me a little of a bunk bed building project for underprivileged children where I recently spent two hours sanding 2 by 4’s. Smoothing down those scrapes and gouges reminded how God has used friends to wear off some of the roughness in my own life.

“You’re just an expert on everything!” my boss Al said sarcastically one day, as he threw up his hands in disgust. His words stung because they were true.  Because we moved a lot when I was a kid I tried being smarter or at least cool enough to be accepted by others. Without my being aware of it this left me a bit of a know-it-all until that day when Al pointed it out. As much as his words hurt, they started me on the path that I needed towards change.

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None of us much like criticism but that is the first step that God uses to sharpen us. But we hold the key to how things turn out in our hands. We can get angry and reject any kind of correction from others or we can allow God to put to take off our rough edges. Correction hurts but if we allow it, God will sharpen us and restore us to the purpose for which we are made. We have a decision to make. We can remain dull or we can allow our Father’s hand to sharpen us for His use.

God’s construction Zone

As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. Genesis 50:20 ESV

A few years ago the street in front of our house was closed for construction while the city re-worked the storm drains. The job was complicated by an underground brook that also ran under the road and the project ended up being dug up and filled in four or five times. During one phase when the work of smashing and pounding was still going at11 p.m.; I put on my jacket and marched down the street to complain. The polite young foreman of the job explained that he was really sorry; but since they had dug up the road it had to be filled in before morning.

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Photo by Tranmautritam on Pexels.com

Joseph’s life reminds me of our construction zone. First he was beaten, thrown into a pit and sold into slavery; by his brothers. In his new life, God began blessing Joseph and soon things started looking up then – wham! He was arrested and thrown into prison for a crime he didn’t commit.  But even in prison Joseph was blessed and years later God used him to interpret the pharaoh’s dreams and he was promoted to governor of the kingdom. Joseph’s key to success was that he understood construction zone living. He didn’t become bitter or use his position to retaliate against his brothers. Instead he helped those same guys who had thrown him into the pit. Joseph was able to forgive because he knew that no matter how many times his plans were torn down or dug up; that God had a way of turning it all into good. He knew that when things in life got turned upside down that God would work overtime until he turned into good and had the road of his life filled in by morning!

Today is Not a Dry Run!

Redeeming the time, because the days are evil       Ephesians 5:16 KJV

Quite a few years ago I had a friend whose favorite saying was, “Today is not a dry run.” It reminded me of when we visited Mystic Seaport in Connecticut. There we walked through the old shipyard where whaling ships were once built. We were shown how piece by piece the ancient ships were built; mostly by hand. In our Christian walk we sometimes think of ourselves as being in God’s shipyard; where He is slowly fashioning us and preparing us for the day when He will launch us on our maiden voyage. But in his letter to the Ephesian church Paul the apostle tells us something very different:

Redeeming the time, because the days are evil       Ephesians 5:16 KJV

Or as Toula’s mother tells her in the movie, My Big Fat Greek Wedding; “I gave you life so you could live!”

God has created us to live! In fact Jesus gave His own life so that we could live forever and forever includes today! Our moments and hours today are not just valuable because they are preparing us for the future. The greatest treasure we have is the moment we are living right now! Nothing will ever taste better than today’s Daily Bread. God’s plan for us isn’t that we would be safely locked inside a glass case for others to admire us, but that we would launch out into unknown seas, with our eyes on the North Star of His will. Today is not a dry run, We were made for more than the shipyard. God himself has built us to sail through both calm seas and storms. If Jesus is our pilot then He will guide us home.

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