This is the second of a 3 part series by John Clark. You can read part 1 here.
Believe it or not, we go through a similar process. It’s called life.
when the law stands up in our hearts and minds and screams “Aha that is sin!” But at the same time the grace of God is there to remind us “You are forgiven”.
So is there no hope of rest or peace? Are we merely destined to be continually battered, scarred and dented throughout this life? Yes, there is peace and rest available to us now, and a final, perfect rest to come. However, as long as we are alive in this world, there will be opportunities and circumstances to be dented, scratched, to see our rust exposed.
Unlike the vehicle or furniture being restored in a garage or workshop; we still need to be out and about in this world while the Spirit of God does His work in our lives. The changes that He has made and continues to make in us radiate from the inside out. (John 15:1-5) When the things of this life come against us and when we experience attacks from the enemy of our soul, we have His strength to rely on. As we abide in Him He gives us the grace and power to show His fruit in us. We may still have some dents and scratches but people will take notice of the difference in the way we respond to things as we reflect the workmanship of our Master. Because of His work in us we become more durable as it were. The things that would severely indent us before now barely leave a mark. Those deep gouges that occur either from the words and actions of others or by our own doing now don’t seem to go as deep and seem to heal faster. What we need to remember is that the same Spirit that brought life to our spirit and works through us to renew our minds has promised us that there will come a time where the complete work of our Master will be revealed. I will elaborate on that in my next post. Until then, know that God is doing a great work in you even though the process can be extremely painful at times.
John Clark is a husband to Julie, a father of one son living in Valrico, Florida. He has an Associate Degree of Theology from Life Christian University, and serves at Life Center of Brandon where he is a teacher and writer.