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In
What Kind of Shape Are You?
A
man was driving down a bumpy country road when he saw
a bag of cement beside the road. It appeared to have
fallen off a delivery truck as the truck hit one of
the bumps in the rough road. Being a person who did
not like to see anything wasted, the man stopped to
pick up the lost bag of cement. When he reached down
to pick up the heavy bag -- to his surprise -- he
discovered it was not soft and limber, as he had
expected. Instead,
the contents of the bag had solidified into an
immovable piece of cement. Apparently, exposure to the
elements had caused the contents of the bag to harden.
Often
our lives are like that bag of cement. We allow the
pressures of daily life, the actions of those around
us, and our OWN selfish attitudes to push us into
shapes for which we were NOT intended and then... WE
become hardened in that condition!
Just as that bag of cement was meant to become a part
of some creative and constructive project, even
so our lives are meant to fulfill a grand purpose. You
and I were created to bring glory to our Creator!
Our God wants to mold us and make us into the
image of His Son (Romans 8:29). In order for Him to mold us, however, we must remain
malleable. We
must surrender our will to His will.
Refusing
to submit to God, the Master Builder, and seeking to
“shape” our own lives leads us further and further
away from His will.
This is what the Bible calls SIN. The danger is that the longer that we refuse to
allow Him to fashion our lives, the more hardened and
insensitive we become to His call through His Word.
The end result of our hardened condition is one
of disappointment and eternal
ruin.
It
is ONLY when we submit to the will of God that He can
fashion us into His own special creation, fit
for an abundant, useful life now, and for an eternity
to come.
Submission
to His will includes: trusting Him above all else
(Hebrews 11:6), repenting of one’s sins (Acts
17:30), confessing before others that Jesus is God’s
Son (Romans 10:9-10), and being baptized in the name
of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins (Acts
2:38). Submission
ALSO includes: surrendering our
OWN will to His for the
rest of our lives (Matthew 16:24).
In
what kind of shape are YOU? Will you allow the Master Builder to mold and make you into
what you ought to be?
God
bless you!
David A. Sargent,
Minister
Church of Christ at Creekwood
1901 Schillinger Rd. S.
Mobile, Alabama 36695
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