Hey Gang, Today I picked up one of Gramps favorite
Devotionals. Still Waters. As I read it
I could hear him reading it to me - as he usually did at night. Human love has been theme for several weeks,
think of how Great is God’s love as He reshapes and repurposes us to be used by
Him while on this earth and then in the Eternal Kingdom.
Firewood or Furniture by Fred Schau - Broadhead, WI
“And He that sat upon the throne said, Behold I make ALL THINGS
new: And He said unto me, ‘Write: for these words are true and faithful.”
Revelation 21:5 (Emphasis
added)
For well over a century, the walnut tree had endured the
rainstorms, blizzards, droughts and floods of the prairie. The huge tree finally went down when a
windstorm took off some branches, causing the trunk to split. One plank cut from the tree was stored in a
barn for five years. It became covered with pigeon droppings, mold, and dust.
The plank was warped and had cracks in places, but my son was sure that it
would make a good headboard for his daughter’s bed.
I had my doubts, but we trimmed and ragged ends off the
board and managed to get one edge straight. Then we started running the board
repeatedly through the planer. Soon the
grain appeared mor clearly. At one end
it had a regular pattern as if quarter sawn, but farther up the plank, the reason curled
into whorls. One of the whorls had a
ring of bark around it where the trunk once grew around a branch. Another whorl had formed where a broken branch
healed over. My son was right - the
plank became one of the most beautiful pieces of lumber I have ever seen.
After a sinner comet to Christ, covered with the grime and
filth of sin, Christ begins transforming him into “His Workmanship” (Ephesians 2:10).
The process is hard and it hurts.
Much excess material is removed, but eventually
the result is a new creation. Though the rigors of the former sinful life left
scars behind, the ‘new creature’ has remarkable beauty not because of sin but
in spite of sin.
By the amazing grace
of Christ, the ‘fallen wood’ that was suitable only for fireweed is transformed
into attractive and useful ‘furniture.”
“Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple
of my God.” Revelation 3:12
Let God’s love flood your heart and spirit.
Gma J
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