Hanging Around Lookin' Purty

The old man worked for months on his project. He had purposefully chosen a beautiful piece of wood. He carefully cut out the curves and planed the surface to just the right thickness - a little thinner here, a little thicker there. The rough, oil-stained hands made sure the pieces were glued tightly together, gently sanded, stained and polished...

Holes were drilled, pegs were made, a bridge was set, strings were strung and tuned...

The bow was tightened and rosined...

The old man was very pleased with his handiwork and the beautiful sound that was made when the bow pulled the strings.

Grandad Kay was a metal machinist by trade and an old-time fiddler by night. In his retirement years he decided to use his skills to make fiddles. He made several and I'm proud to have a couple of them myself. He's the man I was describing at the beginning of this post.

Fast-forward to 2011.

I was at my in-law's home in Tulsa this past week. I went in the front bedroom closet to look for some wrapping paper - or something - I don't really remember right now - and behind some shirts on a shelf leaning against the wall was one of Grandad Kay's fiddles. "What a shame to have this pretty fiddle hidden in the closet" I thought to myself. "Someone should be playing it."

Before I could get to judgemental, however, it dawned on me that the two fiddles I have from Grandad may not be in a closet, but hanging on the wall in my guest bedroom isn't really what they were intended for either. They may be pretty to look at, (and if I was home I would take a picture of them and post it here) but even though guests in our home can see the fine workmanship, these fiddles still aren't being used for their intended purpose. Someone should tune them up and play them!

Sermon illustration.
So I won't try to pretend I wasn't already headed to a little New Year's Day sermon. Haha.

Many of us are just like the fiddle tucked away in the closet. God intends for us to make beautiful music - and I don't mean just singing in the choir. He created us for a higher purpose than just hanging around looking pretty or being hidden away in a closet (or church building).

We love to quote Ephesians 2:8-9 (Wonderful verses!)
8 For ²¹by grace you have been saved ²²through faith ; and that not of yourselves, it is ²³the gift of God ; 9 ²⁴not as a result of works, so that ²⁵no one may boast.

But we should keep going. Look what verse 10 says
10 For we are His workmanship, ²⁶created in ²⁷Christ Jesus for ²⁸good works, which God ²⁹prepared beforehand so that we would ³⁰walk in them.

We were created for good works. God prepared before we were saved that we should walk around doing good works!

Just like those pretty fiddles were created to make music, God created YOU to do good works. That's why you were saved by grace.

I'm not going to tell give you any ideas of what those good works are. I know you want me to. "Like what?" you ask. That's the Holy Spirit's work in your life - not mine. If I give you an idea you won't bother trying to listen to His voice in your life.

So...

I thought this would be a good post for New Year's Day. Many of us are reflecting on what we did (or didn't do) last year and many are making resolutions for the new year.

Let me challenge you to start the year off by asking God if you've been hanging around looking pretty (so to speak) or if you've been hiding yourself and then ask Him what good works He created you for..

Oh... and then why don't you make a decision to DO something for the Kingdom in 2011.