The Faithful Craftsmen

Have you ever built something with your two hands? It is one of the most satisfying activities a man can take part in. The planning, design, the crafting, and building all lead to a sense of accomplishment as you gaze upon your completed product.

I built a metal DDR pad five years ago. At the time, I was pretty enamoured by the game. I remember I spent a considerable amount of my time regardless of what I was doing rotating the objective in my head. I was constantly thinking about how to build a good DDR pad. Countless scenarios ran through, articles read, designs done and re-done. It turned out great.

As Christians, having been purchased...we are no longer our own. We are slaves to righteousness, sons of obedience. His will be done. Our lives are to be marked with fruit giving praise to His name, as well as continually increasing in the knowledge of God.

We know that when He asks something of us, we are to be obedient to His command. But, let's take a second to capture that moment. When He asks of you something that is difficult or hard, do we accept the task joyfully, longing to be a God-glorifying servant or are we like the rebellious child or the ungrateful servant? How often do we take lightly His mercy, doing His work halfheartedly, exclaiming "God is sovereign" (yet, whispering "so I don't need to do my best.")?

Your motives betray your action. Although you are obedient to His command, you neglect the message the action speaks. Your actions speak "Look at me be obedient to God's command" instead of "Look at God". You claim to give your first fruit, you give a pittance. You say "I submit to God", yet there is no joy in your submission to Him.

There needs to be an entire shift in our psyche. From self-glorifying to God-glorifying. Everything must be about Him. We must continually rotate this idea in our minds. Jesus Christ. The Cross. God's Love. His Sovereignty. We must turn from the things of the world, and look to God alone. So when the time comes to act on His command, our actions exclaim His splendor.