No pain no gain
I’m sure many of us are well aware of the unfortunate fact that as we get older our physique turns from firm and strong to more that of a melted candle. For me there are many times when I watch an action movie and see the main character saving the day, strapped with rock hard muscles that I convince myself that I too can look like that in simply a matter of weeks. But after a couple of workouts I am sorely reminded that it’s not as simple as a couple of weeks. But in fact it takes months of hard work and diet restrictions and one has to be completely willing and determined to make any significant changes.
Recently I was going through what we call in the Christian realm a “valley” experience. I had no desire for the Word, prayer was robotic, temptations surrounded me and my affections and thoughts were so far away from anything eternal. I couldn’t understand why God wasn’t working in me and changing me. As I was sitting on the couch sulking, a profound (what I found profound) thought came into my mind. God cannot work in and change a heart that is unwilling to be changed.
The nay saying clay
Sometimes we can become a piece of clay that refuses to be molded. No matter how much water the potter throws on to soften you, you deny his shaping. But as the clay you wonder why the potter isn’t molding you into anything. But deep down inside we aren’t really willing to be changed. Why does the clay inherently hate to be molded?
Being molded hurts, its stretches and pulls. It may even tear the clay a little bit. The clay must have all impurities removed from it thus departing with who it was. Leaving behind all it ever knew. It must now not exist for itself but exclusively for the potter’s purposes. Whether that is to be a beautiful vase or a trash bin, the clay must be content being made and used for the creator’s purpose. Once the master starts creating, molding and His name is on you deeming you one of his creations, should that not bring a sense of joy to the surrender?
But in time when trials come, we grow tired of our designated purpose and start to grumble. We say, “It was better for me to be on the shelf as a shapeless brick, for then I had no problems or duties.” How arrogant we can be to turn our backs on the one who decided on us. Little do we remember that as a heap of dirt upon the shelf we were destined for the trash pile. More and more we would grow harder and harder eventually being rendered useless and cast off by the potter.
What I owe to the file and furnace
Why do we resist the strong hands of the master so much? Not only does He mold and shape with precision and purpose, but with every motion comes love and care. Are we so foolish to choose the impurities stuck inside us rather than to be purified for the potters use? Why do we shrink from the furnace? Why do we resist the file?
As long as we continue to give in to the easy way of laziness, worldliness and sin we are showing God that while we cry for change, we don’t really want a different way of life. But when we choose the hard path, when we resist temptation, when we recognize our own laziness and selfishness. When we make strides and take pains to open ourselves up to change, only then can the Potter continue molding and shaping us into His image. The 17th century Scottish minister Samuel Rutherford said it perfectly when he said
“The greatest temptation out of hell is to live without trials. A pool of standing water will turn stagnant. Faith grows more with the sharp winter storm in its face. Grace withers without adversity. You cannot sneak quietly into heaven without a cross… Lord cut, carve, wound; Lord do anything to perfect your image in us and make us fit for glory! We need winnowing before we enter the kingdom of God. O what I owe to the file, hammer, and furnace!”