“Step right up and win some cheap crap,” so says a paraphrase from the Steve Martin played Navin Johnson in one of my favorite movies, The Jerk. I’ll circle back to this magnificent scene before the end of this post, I promise. For now, as we consider God the maker, keep this quote in the back of your mind as we explore the topic; Align Your Life With God’s Will.
As with any discussion, it’s a good idea to consider the why. In this case, why should we align with God’s will? In answering that, I first hope you’ll agree that God the maker wants us to pursue Big Kingdom work rather than building our own little empires. If not, please take some time to read The Quest for More by Paul David Tripp.
In a nutshell, God the maker wants our lives to bear fruit for building his Heavenly kingdom–the very reason for which he’s designed us. We should pursue that, too. And, as we enjoy the blessings in our lives along the way, the fruit that is to be nurtured is for His vision and not for our worldly, personal ambitions.
Not for satisfying the weak desires of the flesh. Not for cheap crap.
God is the Maker of Masterpieces
I frequently reference the metaphor of a potter molding and sculpting a lump of clay as it relates to how we experience our spiritual growth. It is probably the artistic longing in me. Another metaphor I frequently use is that of a farmer or gardener. Joel Malm has a great blog post about spiritual pruning, and I really suggest you check it out. A third, albeit much less Biblical metaphor we might use is that of product manufacturing.
Specifically, let’s consider my mom’s microwave.
To be more specific, microwaves in general. You see, my family’s first microwave joined our household in the early 1980s. It was a gigantic rotary dialed box with a carousel and had a cooking area big enough to house a fully stuffed Thanksgiving turkey – though we never did that specific dish via microwave because, well… yuck!
That big cooking machine lasted twenty-ish years. No joke. It outlasted many pets in the Gramling home, in fact.
She eventually had to replace it with a smaller box that looked the part much better than old gigantor. A couple years later, mom told me she’d gotten another new microwave. I could only think… Seriously!?!? She had a no frills microwave that lasted two decades and now she couldn’t get one to last more than a two years!
Darn cheap crap.
God the Maker and Christ the Fixer… of the Broken
Like most products we buy these days, the newer microwaves had been made to break down quickly. Sadly, we are accepting of that broken state. This is pretty much the accepted norm. We upgrade phones every couple years. Apple hosts a media event to announce a new product and everything before it is suddenly obsolete. Most thrift stores will no longer even accept donations of televisions simply because they cannot sell them unless they are flat screen, HD and/or “smart.” Never mind that the bulkier television set works fine, can be fitted to get all the channels and has audio that’s pretty good.
Our quest for more is poorly misguided. And our concept of more is not God’s concept of more.
Product manufacturing has devolved. In the pursuit of selling more stuff, our stuff has become inferior. I haven’t even touched on the perils of manufacturing in international locales where labor is cheaper, parts are of lesser quality, and craftsmanship is an essential omission.
In our lives, when we accept and remain content to be broken, we fail to give that broken state over to Christ, the ultimate fixer (he was a carpenter after all).
God the maker created us for a specific purpose, bearing fruit for his Big Kingdom. That fruit is no mere cheap crap, nor is our labor in vain. Along with Jesus the Fixer and the Holy Spirit – our mentor, we pursue a refining life, on purpose. Photo Credit: spablab via Compfight cc
God the Maker & Christ the Fixer are True Craftsmen!
God is the master potter, sculpting the clay as he builds his masterpiece. As Jesus says here in the passage from John, He is the true vine, pruning the branches that are not to bear fruit. He is the master manufacturer, building and equipping your useful life for the long haul. Why? Because he has plan for you and he designed you for that purpose, giving you every necessary upgrade through the work of the Holy Spirit along the way.
They are plans that lead to bearing fruit for his kingdom.
And God the Maker Promises More than Cheap Crap
God the maker created us for bearing Big Kingdom fruit - not cheap crap. Click To TweetIn the aforementioned scene from the Jerk, Navin Johnson has left his home and taken a job with a traveling carnival. One of his first jobs is to man the Weight Guessing Game. A would-be player asks Navin what his prize would be if he were to win. True to form, Navin is genuine in his response. As he visually narrows down the prize selection area with bodily gestures, he explains,
Anything in this general area right in here… below the stereo and on this side of the bicentennial glasses… between the ashtrays and the thimble. Anything in this three inches right in here, in this area. That includes the Chiclets, but not the erasers.
The man and his girl balk at the proposal, telling Navin he isn’t a sucker. Navin later tells his boss, Frosty, that he’s terrible at running the game.
I’ve already given away eight pencils, two hula dolls and an ashtray… and I’ve only taken in $15.
Frosty explains to Navin that he’s taken in $15 and given away 50 cents worth of cheap crap to generate a profit of $14.50. Suddenly Navin is relieved and enthusiastically gets back to work.
“Get your weight guessed right here!” he says. “Only a buck! Actual weight guessing! Take a chance, win some crap. Step right up…”
So What Do We Win?
Lucky for us, God has already told us what we “win” just for playing. He’s promised us eternal life in Heaven. When we are obedient to God… when we play according to the rules of the game and seek the will of God the Maker, he sees to it that our participation is not in vain.
Our labor, our refining life, on purpose, bears Big Kingdom building fruit.
Not cheap crap.