STRAIGHT LINES AND SQUIGGLES
Over a year ago, Hurricane Ike’s remnants passed over Illinois. Our basement sometimes leaks a bit during heavy storms, but Ike backed up the storm drains and put over eight inches of water in our finished basement space. An entire remodeling project was required and I’ve been slowly working to get the downstairs livable again, and even better than it was.
The bathroom down there was tiny. Since I was already changing a lot of things, I took the opportunity to knock out a wall and frame in some extra space so people could actually turn around in the bathroom without rubbing the walls. I had fits getting the framing straight. I’m not much of a carpenter, but I knew something was fundamentally wrong with my work. I just couldn’t get the 2x4s to line up straight. After a number of struggles, I finally realized that the bathroom itself was out of alignment, making it impossible to create a straight alignment for the addition. I could only fudge and try to make corrections as I went along, knowing full well that the walls simply wouldn’t be as crisp and linear as I’d like. I either had to make straight framing that wouldn’t line up with the out-of-whack existing framing or else follow the existing lines, which would only exaggerate the mistakes as they were extended. I ended up doing something in the middle, trying to minimize the different angles while gently straightening the worst of the alignment issues.
The bottom line is that you can’t build a straight addition onto a crooked structure.
Most of the world wants to build a faith around “me, myself and I.” We’re encouraged to find a faith that makes sense to us, that works for us, and go for it. After all, they say, all faiths ultimately go toward the same ends. The problem is that any faith aligned with “me” will be fatally flawed because I am not lined up straight. I am fallen. I have both a spirit nature and a flesh nature. A faith that aligns with “me” will not reflect truth. It won’t be a faith worthy of the greatness of God.
Only God is true, and the only foundation for a genuine faith is God Himself.
God’s greatest self-revelation came in Jesus Christ, and all we know of Jesus comes to us through the inspired words of the Bible. Paul said it clearly, “For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.” (I Cor. 3:11)
If your Christian faith is comfortable and fits you well without challenging the depths of your heart, you need to take another look at what it is you’re building on. When I find a faith that fits “me” too well, I’ve started building on an out-of-whack foundation.
Check your faith foundations. Get them square with the Chief Cornerstone. Then build away.
The bathroom down there was tiny. Since I was already changing a lot of things, I took the opportunity to knock out a wall and frame in some extra space so people could actually turn around in the bathroom without rubbing the walls. I had fits getting the framing straight. I’m not much of a carpenter, but I knew something was fundamentally wrong with my work. I just couldn’t get the 2x4s to line up straight. After a number of struggles, I finally realized that the bathroom itself was out of alignment, making it impossible to create a straight alignment for the addition. I could only fudge and try to make corrections as I went along, knowing full well that the walls simply wouldn’t be as crisp and linear as I’d like. I either had to make straight framing that wouldn’t line up with the out-of-whack existing framing or else follow the existing lines, which would only exaggerate the mistakes as they were extended. I ended up doing something in the middle, trying to minimize the different angles while gently straightening the worst of the alignment issues.
The bottom line is that you can’t build a straight addition onto a crooked structure.
Most of the world wants to build a faith around “me, myself and I.” We’re encouraged to find a faith that makes sense to us, that works for us, and go for it. After all, they say, all faiths ultimately go toward the same ends. The problem is that any faith aligned with “me” will be fatally flawed because I am not lined up straight. I am fallen. I have both a spirit nature and a flesh nature. A faith that aligns with “me” will not reflect truth. It won’t be a faith worthy of the greatness of God.
Only God is true, and the only foundation for a genuine faith is God Himself.
God’s greatest self-revelation came in Jesus Christ, and all we know of Jesus comes to us through the inspired words of the Bible. Paul said it clearly, “For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.” (I Cor. 3:11)
If your Christian faith is comfortable and fits you well without challenging the depths of your heart, you need to take another look at what it is you’re building on. When I find a faith that fits “me” too well, I’ve started building on an out-of-whack foundation.
Check your faith foundations. Get them square with the Chief Cornerstone. Then build away.
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