Three Ugly Helpers
Help doesn’t always come in forms we like.
Last week we discovered that our unwanted rodent population had destroyed the dryer vent pipe, pumping the warm, damp air into the laundry room instead of outside. Not dangerous, but irritating, especially since we had invited friends whose washer was out of commission to do their laundry at our house.
Then, I attempted to run the dishwasher and succeeded only in flooding the kitchen! One of the connectors had been gnawed through! Again, frustrating, but no one died. Paper plates, anyone?
Deadlines converge: the remodel, shoulder surgery, scheduling a sabbatical, junk removal, tree pruning, business license renewal, studio set up, accounts must be balanced, bills paid on time, a whole host of others… Mostly everyday pressures, with a few unusual ones thrown in.
When humans live together, there will be conflict, difference of opinions, heated disagreements, slammed doors. Some of us live or work where following Jesus can result in abuse and imprisonment!
Irritation, pressure and heat.
I don’t know about you, but I would like to structure my life to minimize them. We often gauge our success in life or in following Jesus by how much of these we avoid. Thankfully, Jesus did not operate that way! Following Him usually means there WILL be irritation, pressure and heat! We can look at any of His biographies and see those things, but I want you to take a look at the back of the book (You know, the part where the Good Guy rides off into the sunset with the girl?). In Revelation, John describes the city of God all built out of gold, so pure it is transparent, and of gemstones, with city gates each made of a single pearl!
Gemstones are created in the heart of the earth from combinations of minerals subjected to heat and pressure over a long time. That’s how diamonds are formed from coal. It’s the same stuff; one has been subjected to heat and pressure, the other one has not.
But consider the gates made of a single pearl.
(Granted, John is trying to use first-century human words for things that defy description in any language.) Pearls are the one thing he mentions that are organic in nature. Pearls are formed by a living creature: the oyster. A single grain of sand, an irritation gets inside the oyster’s shell. It doesn’t have fingers to pick it out, or the option to wash it away. God has made the oyster to be full of pearlescent grace. The humble mollusk responds to the annoyance by covering it with a smooth, soothing substance, layer after layer. For the city gates to be formed of a single pearls speaks to a persistent, patient, gracious response to small suffering. Layer after layer off shining grace coats the little pain until the gem has outgrown the one who built it. Our humble, gracious responses to irritation are precious enough in God’s heart to warrant a place of honor in the city He has built.
These three: heat, pressure and irritation can produce precious treasures if we embrace them and cling to Papa in them. They are three ugly helpers along the path of making me look more like Jesus as I am
Following Jesus every day in the everyday,
Christi
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