We had a great time at the Frontier Culture Museum yesterday with the Chandler family! It’s amazing to see all the different cultures that have contributed to life in Virginia, and I’ve always been amazed by this exhibit from Native American culture. This log canoe is mostly done, but I’ve been there before when they were burning out the inside to get to this point. The process of removing the inside is long and takes hard work, but it’s worth it. If the log stayed just a log, it would be pretty useless!
In Philippians 3:7, the Apostle Paul says, “But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.” Paul had a religious background with expert education and training, but when he met Jesus, he realized he was missing what was most important: a relationship with the Savior. After Paul accepted Jesus, Paul changed. He abandoned the false religion he had been practicing and started being a bold witness for Jesus instead of persecuting Jesus’ followers. He lost popularity, worldly success, and in many ways his reputation, but that was ok because he was willing to lose anything it took to become more like Jesus.
So what needs to go in your life? Maybe it’s sin or maybe it’s other things that have become more important to you than your Savior.
Be willing to let God get rid of anything that’s holding you back, and be willing to stay in that process even when it’s hard. Sometimes God allows difficult times to “chip away” the less important things in our lives; other times, God uses difficult people. Have you ever had any “sandpaper people” in your life, people that just irritate you and you have a “rough time” getting along with them? Maybe God is using them to rub off some of your rough edges and make you more like Jesus. Let’s allow God to show us what needs to stay and what needs to go in our lives. Otherwise, when it comes to serving Jesus, we’ll sink like a log!
For more on Christian growth, check this out!