PATCH-UP JOBS

Patch-up jobs aren't the greatest no matter how much work you put into them!

I remember when the Savings and Loan for which I worked moved into a brand new building. Everything was spic and span -- even the small kitchen tucked into an out-of-the-way corner where we employees could have privacy and enjoy our coffee breaks. I also remember the day I reached into the overhead cupboard to retrieve a coffee cup. It slipped from my unsuspecting hands and fell against the sink breaking the enamel. I was sick when I saw the black hole it left on the edge of the sink; small, but nevertheless ugly as sin! The boss said not to worry -- he would repair it. He did; but the patched-up job reminded me of my awkwardness every day!

Then there was the time I tried to patch up some small spots on my dark green car. But sanding only made the spots white, and bigger. Even after I attempted to cover those spots with green paint, that poor Maverick still looked as though it had contracted measles! Everyone knew my whereabouts when they saw that spotted automobile parked anywhere!

So often we are content with a "patch-up job" in our spiritual lives. We can't find the time to have a vital relationship with the Lord. Or we're in too big of a hurry to diligently read the Word; a verse from a promise box will suffice. When we do have a few minutes to read the Bible, we don't understand it and are bored. Three minutes in prayer seems like an eternity. Worse yet, we fall asleep when we do try to pray.

Get a good concordance and look up the word "new." Revelation 21:5, for example, says, "Behold I make all things new."

II Corinthians 5:17, plainly declares, "Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."

This is still a new year. As God's children, we're new creations. We need to realize that "all things" are become new, too. Maybe it's time to ask God to give us a new desire to read and meditate upon His Word, and to fellowship Him in prayer.

Try it. You won't be sorry.

Preacher's Kid
P.S. Nor was I sorry when I got rid of my dark green car spotted with measles!