There is so much
Gospel in this programme and what they are doing. A recent episode had the famous Master Mind
black chair brought in by Sally Magnusson, bequeathed to her by her late
father, Magnus Magnusson. What was
fascinating is the way some parts of the chair were restored but others left
bearing the marks of use. This was most notable in the arms of the chair where
the paint had been worn off by many nervous hands grasping them as they sought
to answer the questions.
The New
Living Translation puts Ephesians 2.10 like this; ‘For we are God’s
masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good
things he planned for us long ago.’
We were
reminded about this in the Sermon at Holy Trinity, St Austell a couple of
Sundays ago and I have continued to ponder on this.
When we got
married, like a lot of people, our first furniture was what we had been given
or ‘flat pack.’ However, as cash
strapped as we were, we did push the boat out on one item. A bespoke pine Welsh
Dresser. We chose the design and it was then hand crafted in a local shop just
outside of Luton where we were living at the time. And having moved around the country we do not have any of the ‘flat pack’ left, it doesn’t do well with being moved around
like that. But the Welsh Dresser is still with us, aged and now a deeper
colour, with various marks of life lived in a busy household.
Here a
question for us to ponder upon. Do we think of ourselves as ‘flat pack’
furniture or as a ‘masterpiece’ being handcrafted by God?
I hope your answer will be as in Ephesians 2:10, that we are being crafted into a
‘masterpiece.’
But here’s
the thing about a ‘masterpiece’ it takes time and patience to produce.
One of the most remarkable examples of this is the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. Work began in 1882 and is currently set to be completed by 2034! It is well recognised as one of the most iconic buildings in the world. The structure inside and out almost appears to have grown organically, it truly is the most outstanding architectural artwork.
The Sagrada
Familia was designed by Antoni Gaudà and when asked about the extremely long
construction period, Gaudà is said to have remarked: "My client is not in
a hurry.”
Shifting the focus just a tad here, I would invite you to recall a very familiar nursery rhyme as we step into next week.
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall
All the king's horses and all the king's men
Couldn't put Humpty together again.
(The history and story behind this nursery rhyme is fascinating, but I will leave you to explore that yourself)
People sit on walls of their own making, and those walls are often unstable because they do not have Jesus as the foundation stone. Many, fall off and become broken people, the sort of people we may meet in our prisons.
In the
nursery rhyme their position is hopeless, because the kings’ horses and king’s
men couldn’t repair them. The 'worlds authorities' can only do so much in putting people together again.
But those
who follow Jesus, and have tried to build their own wall, and fallen off, know
that there is a King who is able to repair even the most smashed up and badly
damaged person, no matter how high they have might have fallen. And you and I,
we are the Kings Men and Kings Women who are tasked to help people in the
repair of their lives. And we are tasked to help people build their lives on
sure and firm foundations.
This will
take time, because God is crafting masterpieces, not flat pack furniture.
We heed
Gaudi’s words, "My client is not in a hurry.”
But before
we step out into the week, as the men and women of King Jesus, maybe it would
be wise for us to check out the foundations of our own walls first.
