A couple of weeks ago I was sitting in church listening to the following sermon when I couldn't help but think of two activities from my past that felt like they totally related. Listen or watch the Week 3 sermon on Losing Everything if you want or go ahead and continue: http://www.goldcreek.org/?page_id=840. I'll post the second activity later but for now look at this.
The Vessel
In a physics class long ago I remember a time when the instructor was going through details of space and the size of particles like neutrons and protons and that there will always be something in between two physical pieces of materials. He also proceeded to give a demonstration on just when you thought a jar was full, it is not. That presentation started with a very large empty jar. The instructor put in assorted stones of a fairly large size and when it was filled to the top he asked. Is it full? The class responded with mostly nos but with a couple of yeses. The instructor agreed that no it was not full and proceeded to pour smaller stones into the jar, shaking the jar to get them to the bottom, until he could get no more in. He again asked, Is it full? The class responded with more yeses but still mainly no. The instructor agreed and proceeded to pour sand into the jar, again shaking the jar to get as much in as possible. Again the question came, is it full? The majority of the class now said yes it is full.
Well the instructor new that in fact it was full of solid mater but when he proceeded to pour water into the jar he was able to get over a pint or so into it. The remainder of the class was then spent on trying to understand that just when you have thought nothing more can happen, happen it shall. More things will always be able to fill the space. So how does that relate to my life as a christian: two ways in that sin will always creep in as a large stone or a small pebble if you let it and that forgiveness is the pint of water that can encompass it all.On the sin side I lived my life knowing of God but not truly knowing Him until recently. I went through my childhood going to a Catholic church and even going to a Catholic high school. I knew most of the traditions and even participated in the extras like the choir. Through all of those years I would have told you I was a kid that was better than most but looking back that was a straight up lie. Yeah I never drank or did drugs in HS, I was actually the president of our drug and alcohol free youth group. But I did have sins: I trampled on relationships that have possibly crushed some people in the process, I know I didn't do all I could to bring myself or others to Christ oh and my big secret was coveting the things that I did not have. Sometimes I took what was not mine. See I had some big stones and allot of small pebbles all while I was "walking with Christ" or at least learning about him. What good was it to go through all of that education and instruction if you don't really know the true meaning of your actions. Such is Life but there was and is Hope...
I learned more about self control in college when I thought I had hit bottom. I drank more than my share, spent money that wasn't mine (beware of credit) and made one phone call that changed my life. The prodigal son had called his father for advice and he gave me one line that I will carry with me every day for every issue I may go through: "Does it control you or do you control it". Let's just say it was easier to count the things that I controlled compared to the things I did not. But the mustard seed had been planted and was starting to sprout. Then I met my future wife and the water started to pour down on that seed as she got me to step out of the box and try a different church. Who would have guessed I would fit in some place else. Well that new style of church ended up being the sunshine that would continue to help me grow along with the water provided by that girl. Both planted my roots deeper and continue to build me up for all of the challenges I would be facing.
You know looking back I don't think I would change a thing except for understanding things quicker, asking for forgiveness quicker and leaning on Him quicker than I have ever done before. You see when I continue to post things here they will be deeper than you may usually think and they will reveal more than you may want to know about me and my family but it is who I am and it is who God created me to be. He created a vessel that would carry some baggage, some pain and His love. He made the vessel so that it could share what he has in life because although we are not exactly the same, just like each stone is not the same, we may have gone through or currently be going through some of the same life issues, the same turbulent waters that shape us. It is this vessel that carries life in it that was given a name and His breath of life.
