| Welcome to the First Baptist Church of Norwich 239 West Main Street Norwich, Connecticut Phone: 860-889-0369 |
Cal's Pastoral Epistles
"Thank God For The Finisher"
November 3, 2010
For those of you who know me this will not come as a surprise. I am not
very handy when it comes to home repair and small construction. I mention
this because last Saturday Charlie decided to put me to the test.
I volunteered with a group from church to work with Habitat for
Humanity of Southeastern Connecticut. The job called for several of us to
do some painting. I tried to get out of it but Charlie wouldn't hear of it. He
said anyone can paint if they simply follow a few simple guidelines.
I don't mind helping out. The problem is that I'm not that good at doing a
lot. (My friends lovingly say I like to avoid doing any work.) The truth is
that I would much rather float around and give help where needed. I can
hold things. I can hand people tools. I can even clean up.
On Saturday Charlie didn't take no for an answer. He is a retired
professional painter. He is good. He has a lot of patience. After telling us
how to do the painting, he left us to do it. A friend and I were in charge of
painting the doors for the upstairs bedrooms and bathroom. All we needed
to do was follow his directions.
It took us an hour. I started thinking we did a pretty good job. Then
Charlie came back. He looked over our work and thanked us. He pointed
out a few flaws. Like a good teacher he told us how we could have done it
without leaving the few glitches. He encouraged us by saying we would do
even better next time. When we asked if there was anything we could do to
fix it now he told us not to worry about it.
He explained that no one would see the flaws because this was only the
second coat. A crew would be in on Tuesday to sand the door again and
put on the final coat. Their job was to come along and fix the mistakes.
They were the finishers.
A finisher. I liked that. I tried hard but it made me feel much better
knowing that even though I messed up, there was going to be someone
who could take my work and clean it up and present it in its best possible
light.
I couldn't help but think about the fact that Jesus does the same thing
with our lives. We try real hard to live the good life but there are flaws,
sins, that keep us from being perfect. We stumble and fall. We make a bad
decision and it affects us. Some would even say that it could exclude us
from God's love.
But praise God. We have a finisher, in Christ, who comes in to wipe
away the smears and the imperfections. He comes in to sand the rough
edges and to apply a coat of grace. In doing so he is able to present us as
holy and acceptable to God. So don't be afraid to go out there and live to the
glory of God. Do your best and rejoice in the fact that we have a finisher on
our side.
God bless. See you in church. Cal.
November 3, 2010
For those of you who know me this will not come as a surprise. I am not
very handy when it comes to home repair and small construction. I mention
this because last Saturday Charlie decided to put me to the test.
I volunteered with a group from church to work with Habitat for
Humanity of Southeastern Connecticut. The job called for several of us to
do some painting. I tried to get out of it but Charlie wouldn't hear of it. He
said anyone can paint if they simply follow a few simple guidelines.
I don't mind helping out. The problem is that I'm not that good at doing a
lot. (My friends lovingly say I like to avoid doing any work.) The truth is
that I would much rather float around and give help where needed. I can
hold things. I can hand people tools. I can even clean up.
On Saturday Charlie didn't take no for an answer. He is a retired
professional painter. He is good. He has a lot of patience. After telling us
how to do the painting, he left us to do it. A friend and I were in charge of
painting the doors for the upstairs bedrooms and bathroom. All we needed
to do was follow his directions.
It took us an hour. I started thinking we did a pretty good job. Then
Charlie came back. He looked over our work and thanked us. He pointed
out a few flaws. Like a good teacher he told us how we could have done it
without leaving the few glitches. He encouraged us by saying we would do
even better next time. When we asked if there was anything we could do to
fix it now he told us not to worry about it.
He explained that no one would see the flaws because this was only the
second coat. A crew would be in on Tuesday to sand the door again and
put on the final coat. Their job was to come along and fix the mistakes.
They were the finishers.
A finisher. I liked that. I tried hard but it made me feel much better
knowing that even though I messed up, there was going to be someone
who could take my work and clean it up and present it in its best possible
light.
I couldn't help but think about the fact that Jesus does the same thing
with our lives. We try real hard to live the good life but there are flaws,
sins, that keep us from being perfect. We stumble and fall. We make a bad
decision and it affects us. Some would even say that it could exclude us
from God's love.
But praise God. We have a finisher, in Christ, who comes in to wipe
away the smears and the imperfections. He comes in to sand the rough
edges and to apply a coat of grace. In doing so he is able to present us as
holy and acceptable to God. So don't be afraid to go out there and live to the
glory of God. Do your best and rejoice in the fact that we have a finisher on
our side.
God bless. See you in church. Cal.
Pastor Cal Lord writes these weekly epistles to
help us see God in every day things.
help us see God in every day things.
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |