Give God All You Have, Including the “Oops”

Jesus commonly used parables to explain heavenly ideas to people on earth, and He used ordinary situations and images to convey His messages. Today I discovered an illustration from my own life. I had been making paper flowers and had started working on making their centers. I cut out strips of paper and starting cutting slits down the side. It was tedious and my wrist started hurting after a while because I had to cut dozens of strips. As I started cutting slits in one of the strips, I accidentally cut too far and cut off part of the strip. Oops.

 

The strips needed to be long enough so when I rolled them up they would fit snuggly in the center of the flower. I didn’t crumple up the strip and throw it away because I don’t like giving up and I like making things work, so I wondered what  to do with my “oops” strip.   

My mistake made me think of how this is like our lives. We mess up, we go too far, we lose something (our temper, reputation, integrity, etc.), we have an “oops” moment. Whether we meant for it to happen or not, we end up as someone or in someplace we do not want to be and we’re not sure how to fix it. When in such circumstances there are several choices. One can sit there and try to figure out what to do, or one can choose to be upset and angry and pout, Or, one can humbly go to God with the “oops”  and give Him all that there is and let Him be the master of the rest of that life. 

No one can change the past, but God can remake the future. The Bible is filled with examples of people that messed up and then turned to God and let Him rework and change their lives into something beautiful. God is creative. He can use whatever you have, even if you think it is not much. There is a story in John 6:5-13 where Jesus used a boy's 5 small loaves and 2 small fish to feed 5,000 people. He can make things work. He can make things beautiful. He is God after all. He created the whole universe. He can make all things work for the good of those who love Him. All one has to do is surrender.

The alternative is trying to fix our mistakes on our own. We try, hoping no one will notice how bad it is, or we just try to find a way to forget what happened. Maybe we want to try and fix it on our own because we don't want to humble ourselves and admit we need God.

No one is perfect. Everyone has done something wrong, but it’s not going to get better unless God takes control. It doesn’t matter if you made a big or little “oops,” just give God whatever you have left and watch what He can do.

As for what happened to my “oops” strip, I was able to make it fit loosely in the center of one of my flowers and secure it with some glue. Coming up with a solution for a broken life, however, is something only God is big enough to handle.

We Live Among Weeds, Until Harvest Time

The Parable of the Weeds : Matthew 13:24-30

I was thinking about injustice and suffering and wondering as most people do, why does an all-powerful God not stop evil people by getting rid of them. After asking God about it my eyes fell on The Parable of the Weeds. It goes like this:

²⁴ Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. ²⁵ But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. ²⁶ When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.

27 “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’

²⁸ “‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.

“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’

²⁹ “‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them.³⁰ Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”

I thought about what it meant when the wheat and weeds are stuck together and intertwined. Then I remembered God’s patience. He could just yank up the weeds before harvest but then they would not have a chance to become wheat. Once we turn to God, He gives us His Spirit and we are no longer weeds but wheat. I realized I used to be a weed. I used to be a mean person. I used to be selfish. I used to do things that were not nice. Then God came into my life and I became His wheat. Would I have wanted God to yank me up before that moment? Everyone at one point has been a weed, and until God changes someone by giving that person His Spirit, that person will remain a weed. We have all done evil things and those things deserve the punishment of death. The weeds were destined for the fire. As doers of evil we were destined for hell. Through the sacrifice of Jesus we can choose to be forgiven and by God's grace be transformed into His children and be brought into His presence like the wheat. God is patient not wanting anyone to die.  Consider the following verses in Ezekiel  chapter 18.

23 Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign Lord. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?

32 For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!

He is waiting until the last moment before He has the weeds destroyed. The Harvest is coming and then He will take care of evil for good. 

James 5:7-11

⁷ Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains. ⁸ You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. ⁹ Do not complain, brethren, against one another, so that you yourselves may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing right at the door. ¹⁰ As an example, brethren, of suffering and patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. ¹¹ We count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.

2 Peter 3:9

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.