“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.” Psalm 32:8
I got a new pair of prescription glasses this month. The prescription works well. I see clearly and crisply, but the frames have been a nuisance. They are much like my old pair, but they have required several trips to have them adjusted and readjusted. As always, this got me thinking.
If I were going to make a metaphor from this situation, I could say the prescription lenses are like the human spirit, the part of us that loves God and wants to please Him and bring His kingdom here. The stubborn, rebel frames can be more like our will, the thing that gets in the way and constantly has to be refined and surrendered.
God loves us simply because that’s who He is. He desired a relationship with us and designed us. And presently He gives us life and sustains us. He doesn’t get tired of readjusting us. He gives us ample opportunities to get our rebel will in line with His.
I have plastic frame glasses. After taking them to be adjusted and watching some tutorials on adjusting them at home, I’ve found that a simple application of heat and pressure can mold my frames to the desired shape. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? We are refined through the fires of affliction. We are shaped when things get hot and the pressure uncomfortable.
Like we shouldn’t take a friend’s glasses and adjust them at home, we can’t shape the lives of those around us or even ourselves. That’s God’s job. Perhaps you find yourself asking questions like why do we, as a community, choose negativity, harsh or inappropriate language, violence, and obscenities? Well, the fact that we ask these questions is a good sign, meaning we aren’t comfortable with it. The fact is, though, we have rebel wills or wills.
Rebels can be portrayed as the good guys, the underdogs, the ones standing against tyrants, but in this instance having a rebel heart isn’t good. Our hearts are naturally inclined to sin. Since the fall of man in the garden, mankind fights an uphill battle, with the support of the Holy Spirit.
Our wills are self-centered, self-serving, self-glorifying, and self-motivated. But thanks to Jesus and His others-first example we don’t have to serve self. I’m reminded as I write this of a simple song from my childhood with lyrics that say, “Change my heart Oh God, make it ever true. Change my heart Oh God, may I be like You. You are the potter, I am the clay, Mold me and make me, this is what I pray.”
Instead of being annoyed when my glasses get on my nerves, I can recall this metaphor and the lyrics and be thankful that God doesn’t set me aside because I’m being annoying once more, but He gently brings me back to Himself. He loves my spirit and is willing to put the in work to adjust my rebel will, or rebel heart, to serve His kingdom.
“I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart.” Jeremiah 24:7
