THE PORCH AND THE WORKSHOP

Like the sun at the centre of our solar system, so Christ at the centre of our lives allows us to make sense of the many things that impinge upon our existence. Of course, we cannot fully work out all that God allows. To be able to do that would mean that mere man could understand and explain God. What kind of God would that make Him?

Jesus Christ is not a guru. He is not some nameless ethereal entity, but the Lord of all who can be known and be known intimately. Furthermore, He wants me to know that He knows me, intimately. As such He wants to speak with me, converse like old friends. In fact, He wants to sit upon the porch of our lives and for us to watch the sun go down together. At such times, words are not necessary, only presence.

My wife and I spent the last six weeks in England. While old friends made us welcome, the snow did all it could to freeze out our plans. In some instances it succeeded, forcing a change, or at least a postponement, of intentions. Inevitably, such proved frustrating as control was wrested from our grasp by an imprisoning period of weather. So much of those periods of postponement were wasted. With the benefit of perfect retrospective vision I can now see opportunities for porch time. Instead? Being human (lousy excuse, I know), I did human things like trying to catch up on some of the work I took with me. Conclusion: practically beneficial, but very little porch time. Do you think I might have missed the obvious?

When the white blanket was drawn back, we carried on with our plans without so much as a “by your leave”. It is a good thing that Jesus is omnipresent. The amount of times I would have left Him behind if He was not is a frightening fact of my life.

I find Him amazing. He never gets offended or gives me the silent treatment as is the wont of so many. No, quite the opposite. In fact, as a Sunday sailed serenely into view with the realization of ministry on that day, He was ready to assist me in my patchy, at best, preparations. I have always felt so inadequate as regards preparation. Please do not get me wrong, I can do the technical stuff. You know: dictionaries, concordances, commentaries, books, anecdotes. It is that prayer preparation that gets me every time.

Those who raised me in the Kingdom and others I have observed would, seemingly, pray for hours before preaching and teaching in any context. Me? Oh, once I have hunted down and captured my thoughts I will pray until the next mass break out of my mental inmates. My mind, for whatever reason, is not the greatest high security facility. Things seem to get lost inside and much of what remains finds holes in the fence to make good their escape. End of prayer time. Hunt, capture, recommence.

You know, the amazing thing is that He comes through on the Sunday morning every time; each Bible School lecture, Fellowship Bible study, Sunday service, conferences small or otherwise, He shows up and makes me look really good, quite together, not a little eloquent and, on occasion, reasonably funny. He loves me and those He has called to hear what He has to say through me. A miracle.

Jesus is real to me when I am real with myself. I really want to do my best. Honestly, I want to be able to teach and preach so well that no one, no matter how hard they try, could possibly miss the point. You see, that desire sums up my humanity. Wanting what I cannot have and not surrendering to the fact that without Jesus at the centre, I cannot even begin to make a dent in such a desire.

So, how do I make sense of it all? It is a good thing that Jesus was a carpenter, so I can think of life in terms of His workshop: hammers, chisels, saws, planes. Without His hands upon them, they are merely inanimate tools. Good quality tools, no doubt, manufactured in the finest factories with the best components, but, for all that, still inanimate. However, when His hands take hold, His creativity flows in and through them.

What begins as an idea in His mind, flows through His skilful hands and makes the tool do what it could never do. The tool does not prepare, but it is available.
My lesson? Stay available, keep close to the porch as there will be time to talk and wait for His hands.