Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD (08/03/17)
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TITLE: The Perfect Blueprint | Previous Challenge Entry
By Deborah Garner
08/10/17 -
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The actual ancient problem is that with humans there will always be error, which in the spiritual world translates to sin. The error may not be of the immensity of a downed aircraft but even a severely broken relationship can cause years of pain and grief. Due to the sin of bitterness that results in uncontrolled harsh or critical words pouring out of our mouth, there might seemingly be a situation beyond repair. But actually it would be a signal that it’s time to return to the spiritual drawing board for a deep down look at the problem.
In the Bible passage of Romans 7:18-19, when the Apostle Paul speaks of failing to do the things he strives to do or else doing things he wishes not to do, he describes the turmoil of Christian life. Even with perfectly good intentions, we may fail at spiritual maturation because we foolishly try to go it alone, relying on our own intellect and freedom of choice. The consequences of disregarding our need for God’s wisdom should quickly send us back to the starting point of our erroneous or prideful judgment but we often blindly ignore cause and effect and continue to repeat our failures.
So then the question is how do we gain the wisdom to avoid painful failures and yet have the faith to live courageously? According to Proverbs 9:10, the beginning of wisdom is the knowledge of the Lord. In this verse, The Lord says He is the source of good judgment. He is the way by which to lay a life foundation that resists cracks and leaning-tower-tilt lifestyles brought about by spiritually immature or sinful choices.
As an example, we might devise a plan of spiritual discipline to begin each day with fervent prayer and to strive to memorize God’s Word in order to refrain from sarcastic or critical retorts to our spouse, but then we allow anger or pettiness to drain us of motivation and follow-through. The problem might be resolved with a different approach, but instead, we give up and spiritual growth is stunted.
In 1st Timothy 6 when Timothy speaks of fighting the good fight and running the race of life as if to win the prize, the exhortation is not to give up but rather to keep on trying. There is no indication that it will be an easy race. Only the Lord knows the position of the finish line.
However in another verse, Lamentations 3:22 we are reassured that the Lord is faithful, His steadfast love never ends and His mercies are new every morning.
We might understand this to say that yesterday’s sins and errors are indeed yesterday’s. Today is a fresh start, a do-over chance to honor the Lord. We can feel free to go to the architect of our lives and ask Him to use His Divine pencil to help erase our mistakes and then to redraw the lines. When we acknowledge and repent of our sinful ways, the Lord forgives. Because He loves, He is eternally merciful toward us and rather than mete out punishment, He allows us to learn from our mistakes.
So whether we imagine it drawn on heavenly tablets of stone, expensive vellum or an erasable electronic board, each day is only a new copy, not a replacement of the original plan.
God has provided, through Christ, the Cornerstone on which our life’s foundation is squared and supported. In time past, before we were even conceived, He imagined the beautiful high-rise building of our soul in its finished perfection. He believed us to be worth the cost and even foreknew the completion date.
There is no need for Him to return to the drawing board when we fail. He doesn’t need to revise the design. We can be at peace knowing that from its inception, the copyrighted blueprint of our life is perfectly drawn and will be completed under the oversight of the Master Builder.
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I enjoyed your thought on this subject.
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http://www.faithwriters.com/Boards/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=67&sid=94d56cc91914a24057086a73c787cff5
This is very well written. A winner in my book. I hope this does well with the judges.
We need to go back to the drawing board, though, and I think that is what you were trying to say. Our sin causes us to deviate from God's plan for us.
Our life falls on Christ, our Cornerstone. That was a great part. Good lesson. Thank you.
Keep your eyes in his word.
Well done,
Blessings~