It's Time for a Trim and a Shave
Imagine a customer at a barber getting his hair and beard trimmed when the barber and patron strike up a conversation. They talk about many things and various topics, and for a moment, the topic shifts to God.
The barber says, "I don't believe God exists."
"Why do you say that?" asked the customer.
"Well, just look out there in the street. What happens out there shows that God doesn't exist. Tell me, if God exists, why are there sick people? Why are there abandoned children? If God exists, surely there would be no sickness or suffering. I can't imagine a loving God would let all this happen."
The customer pauses to think for a moment, but doesn't respond, not wanting to start an argument. The topic changes, the barbar finishes his work, and the customer leaves the shop.
He no sooner walks out the door than he sees a man on the street with long, unkempt hair, dirty and tangled, with an untrimmed beard. The man looked dirty and neglected.
The customer turns on a dime and marches back into the shop, "You know what? Barbers don't exist!"
The barber objects, "How can you say that? I am here, and I am a barber. And I just cut your hair!"
"No!" the customer retorts boldly, pointing out the window. "Barbers don't exist, because if they did, there would be no people with long, dirty hair and untrimmed beards like that man out there."
"But barbers do exist!" the barber argues. "What you see is their own fault; why don't they come to me?"
"Exactly!" the customer agreed. "That's the whole point!"
The argument that God must NOT exist because ugliness and evil does, is nothing but a strawman fallacy of the ultimate proportion.
In this ugly, unkempt, messy, stinky, dirty world, God indeed exists. Yet it is up to US to seek Him. And once we seek Him, it is up to US to actually settle into His chair to let Him conform us into a more beautiful image ... into HIS image!
"You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart" (Jeremiah 29:13, ESV).
"And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit" (2 Corinthians 3:18, ESV).
"For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers" (Romans 8:29, ESV).
"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect" (Romans 12:2, ESV).
"And have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator" (Colossians 3:10, ESV)."And to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness" (Ephesians 4:24, ESV).
Transformed from the Inside Out
Everybody loves a good makeover! Why, some years ago, didn’t it seem like every network had a least one reality show that had a makeover element as a part of their line-up? Now there are entire cable networks and streaming programs dedicated to this idea of makeovers. People line up to have their living rooms, bedrooms, their kitchens, and even their entire homes made over. Some get their cars made over.
Others still have faces redone, or their entire look redone. In fact, there are doctors who are paid handsomely to makeover your entire body, should you so desire. People will undergo hours of surgery to have themselves cut up, opened up, and stitched back up, so that they can look brand new.
There have even been some who brought in the ‘parenting specialists’ (e.g., Supernanny) to tell them how they should be parenting. And, some of us even sit on the sofa hoping that a life coach will come in and Fix My Life! All of these were at one point hit programs. Why? because everyone loves a good makeover!
One particular family favorite was called the Extreme Home Makeover. I suppose this show was popular among many, simply because of the stories. Though they were predictable, everyone enjoyed seeing some poor family living in some deplorable, sub-par, sub-standard housing situation, with some tragic life story that resulted in their living in such wanting circumstances. And even though we all knew the format, we were still glued. Why?
Because everyone loves a good makeover; everyone longs for transformation!
We like makeovers because we innately understand that who we are or where we are in life is not all that there is; there’s got to be something more than this; there must be something greater!
Welp, we're in luck, because God also loves a good makeover! He wants to sweep in, dismantle the entire edifice of our lives and innermost being, lay down a new and everlasting foundation (1 Corinthians 3:11), and then build us up again from scratch into the very image of Christ!
"And to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness" (Ephesians 4:24).
Now THAT'S a makeover!
"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will" (Romans 12:1-2, NIV).
The Beauty in Brokenness
Consider a majestic stained-glass window adorning an ancient cathedral. From a distance, its vibrant colors and intricate designs captivate the eye, but upon closer inspection, one notices the fractures and imperfections marring its surface. Yet, it's these very flaws that allow light to dance through the glass, casting a kaleidoscope of colors onto the walls and floor below.
Similarly, our lives are akin to stained glass, beautiful yet fragile, marked by the cracks and breaks of adversity and pain. And just as the light shines through the brokenness of the stained glass, illuminating its hidden beauty, so too can God's grace illuminate our broken lives.
In our journey through our trials and tribulations, we are confronted with moments of shattered dreams, broken relationships, and profound loss. Yet, it is precisely in these moments of brokenness that we have the opportunity to experience God's transformative power and love.
By surrendering our brokenness to Him, we open ourselves to the possibility of redemption and renewal. Like the master artisan who painstakingly restores the fractured pieces of a stained-glass window, God works in our lives to mend our brokenness, infusing each shard with His grace and love.
As we allow Him to work within us, we discover that our brokenness is not a sign of weakness, but a testament to His redeeming grace as our brokenness becomes a source of strength, drawing us closer to His divine love.
"For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay [or, cracked and chipped stained glass windows!] to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us" (2 Corinthians 4:6-7, ESV).