Working with timber or carving the Sunday roast requires
that you have to decide which way the grain of the wood or meat is running and
cut across it to make a good job. It is not that simple when dealing with
people.
We like to be liked so we tend to say things that others
agree with. In church we are careful to say things that we know will fit with
the prevailing theology.
Simply put, to pass pretty much unnoticed in life you
flow with the grain and fit right in. People who don’t are quickly marked,
avoided, ostracized then alienated until they go away. Rather like someone
turning up at a friend or relatives party then talking openly about Jesus. The
cringe factor alone will ensure nobody will go near that person.
Paradoxically, the Kingdom of God is established by people
and ideas that cut right across the grain of our lives. We recognise the Lords
“signature” on events that don’t seem to agree with the way we naturally
perceive or even do things. His words regularly cut straight to the heart as
though all of our thoughts and feelings don’t matter. Why then are we so afraid
to be direct or forthright? God is seeking for men and women who will be His
vessel as in Esther 4:14 “for such a time as this.” Such courageous people have
been known to trigger revivals of God’s power.
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