“Everything at IKEA requires assembly. I bought a pillow; they gave me a duck.” –Todd Glass
When I became a Christian at age 30, I truly had a ‘scales falling off the eyes’ experience. I did not know God as Creator and was instantly struck with the awe of seeing the world I once viewed as a cosmic accident through new eyes. But not everything about me changed that glorious day. In many ways, I still looked like a duck. Certain things took more time; there was still “some assembly required.”
Many people have the misguided notion that Christians should instantly display all of the compassion, self-control, and sacrifice as Jesus, and when we fail (and we will) the world uses us as an excuse for dismissing Christianity as a hoax. But God chose for us to remain in our sinful flesh in a sinful world, at least for a short time, to be His agents in a fallen world. And who are we to question His wisdom? I, for one, am thankful for all of the people throughout history who failed yet God used them anyway: Adam, Moses, and David, to name just a few. When God chooses to use someone “with some assembly required,” the world takes notice and we are instantly positioned to introduce them to our Maker. And praise God that He does not see us as a duck, or with still some assembly required, but rather as we will one day be: a perfect reflection of His Son, both inside and out.
“And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” (2 Corinthians 3:18)
Shadia Hrichi
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Amen!!