The messy business of new

I was never much of an art student, nor was I much for shop class.

I love the process of getting started on a new project, but it was the messiness and the mistakes that always stopped me from making any real progress.

So I often fell short of a fully completed project.

Lately, I've seen how necessary the mess is. When you carve away at something you're going to have shavings on the ground. The unnecessary stuff needs to settle somewhere.

The same is true for me and anyone trying to follow Jesus.  There's a lot of junk that needs to be carved away, but as it gets carved away something new and good is found underneath.

Jesus is in the messy business of making things new.

Why not get a little messy and join in on some of the good work He's doing in you? It's ok to make a mess...

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

In Your Own Words

Remember back in grade school, when the teacher would ask you a question and you would repeat back, word for word, to him/her the answer you found in the text book? Remember how good it felt to be right? Fast forward a few years into middle school or high school. Remember that nagging teacher who would force you to change that perfectly worded answer you found in the text book into your own version of the same answer? Your teacher would normally say something like, "Now Billy, put that answer into your own words please." That's normally when Billy would let out a big groan. Why wasn't the answer from the book good enough? I think that's a valid question. It's made me think recently about why people continue to compose new songs, give new sermons, write new blog posts, paint new paintings... Our Christian faith has a rich base of writings, hymns, and art. There is no shortage of artistic expression with our God as the subject. With that in mind, why do we need ...
Read more

A Good Friend

Quote from Augustine’s Confessions (4.8.13) “… longing for someone absent with impatience and welcoming the home-comer with joy. These and similar tokens of friendship, which spring spontaneously from the hearts of those who love and are loved in return - in countenance, tongue, eyes, and a thousand ingratiating gestures--were all so much fuel to melt our souls together, and out of the many made us one.” This is a short exert from Augustine’s Confessions. It’s part of a lament of sorts, grieving a lost friend. When I read it, I feel the emotion in his tone. It’s inspiring and heart-breaking in the same breath. To find such intimacy in friendship is stunningly difficult today. Today these words might be met with uncomfortable squirms from most men. I think that’s a shame. I think friendship, the kind that Augustine speaks of here, is generally lost. In the midst of all of our communication we have not the time, nor the desire to know, understand, and invest in a friend. And we are worse...
Read more

Seminary Application

I'm currently applying to Seminary. If accepted, I'll attend Bethel Seminary's InMinistry program beginning this fall. I've heard great things about the program and I'm very much looking forward to participating in it. If you're thinking about attending seminary, or you're just interested in what types of questions someone applying to seminary are asked to answer, you can read the quesions and my essay/response below: Please write your response to the following topics (Please make it one and one half to two typed pages, single spaced.) 1. Describe your Christian experience, including conversion and significant factors in your spiritual formation. 2. Describe your understanding of the task of ministry, previous ministry experiences, and your own sense of call. 3. Comment on your understanding of the mission of the Church and the role of the local church in that mission. 4. Explain why you want to pursue a seminary education.  My friend and I climbed the bleac...
Read more