“what once started out as a broken chair in a heap of junk became a treasured possession of mine. Sure, it took a lot of work. But the work didn’t make it mine, the purchase did. The work only proved how much I wanted that chair. ” (Debbie Alsdorf, He is My Freedom – the bold emphasis is mine)
I read this awhile ago and it’s still rolling around in my head. Ms. Alsdorf bought an old chair. A chair with layers of paint coveirng up the beauty underneath. She has used it throughout her book to be a picture of us and the work God does to uncover beauty he sees underneath.
But it’s the part in bold that really struck me.
The work didn’t make it mine. She did alot of work to take off all the paint layers and sand down the wood underneath. Then refinish it.
The purchase did. The chair was hers from the time she paid for it. When Jesus died on that cross He paid for me. I became His right then. There is no question of ownership.
The work only proved how much I wanted that chair. Read it again. The work Jesus has done up to today proves how much He wanted me. How much He wanted you.
Christian, you are already His – because He died for you. The work to build the family resemblance – to make you more like Him – that shows just how much He wanted you. If we keep that in mind, it will change the way we think about ourselves. But more than that, it will change the way we come to Him.
A lot of the time, I operate as if I snuck under the fence and He just said, “Oh, all right!” But, He loved me before the world began. He sent His Son to pay for me. And He is working now to make me more like that Son. Think about it – that means that He’s glad when I come to Him for forgiveness. He’s glad when I come to Him in prayer. And He’s my proud Father when I have a victory. Can you picture it?
Hold on to it!