Behind our house at the edge of the forest stands this work of a troupe of our grandchildren. All it took to produce this was some boys with active imaginations, a piece of tarp, some rocks, a fallen tree, scraps of metal, muscle, sweat, ingenuity and teamwork.
It has been there for more than a year now, gracing the back edge of our lawn but we do not have the heart to take it down. Why do we keep it? It is their handiwork and they are our grandchildren. This "what-ever-it-is" stays!
I suppose the boys who built this were convinced it would be a great retreat for them. Maybe they planned to take their sleeping bags, some snacks, and a bottle of water and be pioneers or explorers of a new, wonderful land. Maybe they planned to solve a mystery or make friends with aliens. I don't think anyone slays dragons anymore, but maybe they were going to do some other heroic deed. Whatever their plan, this was good, clean fun in the fresh air.
To our minds, it is cute for children to live out their fantasies. Pouring their energy into such a project helps prepare them for bigger and better things. After all, someone has said that "play is the work of childhood." We really do expect that as they mature they will put their time and energy into something with more stability than this creation out back. We hope they will continue to grow, improve, and make worthwhile contributions in their spheres of influence.
What about us? As Christians, what are WE building? Are we diligent about it? Are we willing to give time and energy to becoming stronger in grace and faith? Do we read our Bible? Do we pray? Do we meditate on the things of God? Do we spend time in worship and fellowship with other Christians? Do we repent when we sin and ask God's forgiveness? Are we on God's team?
We know that God is at work in the lives of all of us who have trusted in Him. He is molding us, shaping us, and making us more and more like the Lord Jesus. But we must cooperate with God. We must yield to His work in us. We must trust Him and obey Him. We must understand that He really IS making "something beautiful of our lives."
Let us BE the persons God created us to be. II Peter chapter one says, ". . .giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ."
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