“It’s not working!”
“I can’t do it—it’s just too hard!”
As a parent, I have heard those words of frustration many times—usually right before something crashes. For several years, it seemed like I heard them every time my kids played with LEGO™ toys. Most of the time I would patiently respond, “Just try again.” But one day I realized my standard “mommy” response was actually causing one of my children more frustration.
“It doesn’t matter how many times I try; I just can’t do it!” complained my son, just before throwing his LEGO™ toys across the room.
Instead of delivering the usual reprimand for losing self-control, on this particular day, God infused my “mommy” brain with a grace that said, “Show me what you’re trying to do.” My son began to explain his plans for building a huge tower and demonstrating his ability to transfer that picture in his mind to the blocks in his hands. Then I saw the problem: He was missing a vital piece of information regarding physics. So, I showed him how his foundation (or lack thereof) was affecting the way his tower responded to outside forces like gravity, wind, and his little sister. Soon I was hearing shouts of “Mom, come look at this!”
It’s amazing how a little bit of knowledge can revolutionize our lives. But what would happen if, instead of trying to build our lives on one truth from God’s Word, we began using the whole counsel of God to build a solid foundation? Would we be constantly frustrated and ready to quit? Or would all the pieces put together, help us move away from childishness and into the maturity of Christ?
Andrew’s Sharper than a Two-Edged Sword teaching sheds light on how a solid foundation helps us maintain our spiritual equilibrium:
Where I live, there’s a dirt road with ditches on both sides of it. If you started sliding into one of those ditches, you might turn the wheel violently to get out of it, but if you weren’t careful, you might hit the ditch on the other side. Well, one ditch isn’t any better than the other ditch. If you want to reach your destination, you’ve got to go down the middle of the road—in between the ditches. Similarly, an error is simply one truth from God’s Word taken at the expense of, or to the exclusion of, another truth from God’s Word. If you are really going to divide the Word of God correctly, you’ve got to put it in its proper balance. (paraphrase mine)
I love that! Using the truths of God’s Word in proper balance can help us avoid mistakes and keep us from constructing a faulty foundation. And how much easier life—and building with LEGO™ toys—would be if we made sure we started with a solid foundation!
