Ephesians 2:19-22
That's plain enough, isn't it? You're no longer wandering exiles. This kingdom of faith is now your home country. You're no longer strangers or outsiders. You belong here, with as much right to the name Christian as anyone. God is building a home. He's using us all—irrespective of how we got here—in what he is building. He used the apostles and prophets for the foundation. Now he's using you, fitting you in brick by brick, stone by stone, with Christ Jesus as the cornerstone that holds all the parts together. We see it taking shape day after day—a holy temple built by God, all of us built into it, a temple in which God is quite at home.
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.
For centuries, men and women have been creating beautiful, useful items out of scraps. Many things that would ordinarily be tossed into the trash can are pulled together by creative and industrious (if not a big crazy) people to make something useful… maybe even a work of art! If you can’t envision what would be worth saving, you need only look at my desk or laundry room! Greeting cards with beautiful designs can be repurposed into a new note card. Tiny fabric scraps can be fashioned into a frilly hair bow, doll dress, or applique for a t-shirt. My grandmother has used incredibly tiny fabric scraps to create intricately beautiful quilts as long as I can remember. My great-grandmothers created a “postage-stamp” out of fabric scraps that were… yes… the size of postage stamps! Even a worn bed sheet or pillowcase can be cut into smaller strips to use as cleaning cloths.
I saw on Pinterest where an artist in Texas took shovel spades and used them to create the individual spines of enormous “pine cones” for beautiful yard art. A discarded metal yard rake was made into everything from a wall rack to hold wine glasses to a desk sorter for mail and office supplies! On one of my favorite TV cooking shows… Chopped… contestants are given four unrelated (and often bizarre) food items and told to create an appetizer, entrée and dessert from them. And on American Pickers, the two hosts often buy items like vintage bicycles and motorcycles and restore them to their original luster. Others are used as spare parts to create a new bike. In this manner, the once useless piece is given a new purpose, whether as the foundation or as a vital “brick or stone.”
All of these projects have one thing in common – a cornerstone, or starting point. Often this is the idea itself. Then piece by piece, scrap by scrap, the project takes shape. You see the quilt or yard art develop. You smell flavorful aromas and discover that there is usually something in the pantry that can create a tasty meal! You look at the shiny new bike and have no clue that it was once a pile of rusty parts! You look at something deemed useless and realize that all you needed was a new attitude… and maybe a little teamwork and some ingenuity.
Here’s my point… we are the scraps… the useless bits ready for the discard heap. Jesus is the cornerstone… the Idea, the Creative Spark that says “There is something worth saving here!” The foundation is the Word of God and His will for our life… His desire for us to be more in Jesus than we could ever be on our own. The ultimate outcome is God’s Holy Temple… an ingenious, beautiful work of art. We are God’s children, coming together from all backgrounds and histories to represent Him as one body… one heartbeat… one family… one home.
Where do you fit into this picture today? Are you part of the body of Christ? Are you involved in the building of God’s Holy Temple… His family of believers? Do you feel welcome and a part of this home? Or are you still operating like a lowly scrap, destined for the trash heap? Have you discovered your purpose? Are you even looking for it?
Haven’t you wandered long enough? Aren’t you ready to come home… to pitch in and do your part to belong in God’s Kingdom? No skills are required… no ticket is needed. All you have to do is ask Jesus to wash you clean of your sins and set you upright. He will do exactly this… and assign you a spot on the construction crew. Are you ready for your hard hat?
©2012 Debbie Robus
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