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I love paint. Not that I particularly like the act of painting itself. See, about the time I begin making progress in a room my O.C.D. tendencies kick in (I know this shocks those of you who know me). I will get hung up in one corner or area for hours trying to make it perfect. But I digress... Paint, yes I love paint. Why? I love paint because it covers up errors and makes something beautiful. With a good coat of paint you can hide a lot of mistakes. You can make an old car new. Make a dirty, outdated house look like a million dollars. The right coat of paint can completely transform the look of any room. Take for instance this past weekend. Anderson Interfaith Ministries, AIM (a great local ministry), just completed some remodeling at their headquarters. The construction allowed for the addition of an office for one of AIM’s staff that works with their women’s shelter/education program. And to help them out, F2W brought in a great group of volunteers to paint the new office. This group of 14 volunteers transformed this dirty-bare sheetrocked room into a beautiful place to work. Unfortunately we tend to think this is what Jesus does in our lives when we accept him. That he comes in and cleans us up and slaps on a fresh new coat of paint. If this were true then all the old sin, hurts, guilt, and fears would still be there. Just hidden behind a new coat of paint. Well accepting Christ doesn’t mean you are the same old thing with new paint; it means your are completely new. It means he comes in and tears the whole building down, rebuilding everything new, as we allow. 2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us we are made NEW through him; a NEW life has begun! Let’s remember by accepting Christ we are made completely new. We can let go of those old habits. That sin... That guilt... Those hurts... Those fears... An office may only need a fresh coat of paint, but we humans need something more. Something that only Jesus can provide. PS: Thanks to the great volunteers who came out to serve. You are the best! |