Image by mathowie via Flickr

The deck out back wasn’t built very well.  The uprights aren’t spaced evenly.  And there aren’t enough of them to steady the weight from wiggling laterally.  It’s old.  And the nails they used are beginning to loosen.  I’ve hammered them back in a few times.   But they come loose again each year.   The frost, rain, and heat do their work to loosen what was done.  So I’m putting deck screws into the joints to help the deck last a few years longer.

While I’m doing this, I’m looking for similarities between my Christian walk and the deck I’m working on.  (No. It never stops with me.)  Then it dawned on me.  I consider the shoddy work done at the beginning of building.  And I’m here doing work to make that bad work last longer.  It will either come down on its own some day, or it will need to be torn down and rebuilt.  Either way, it won’t last as long as it might have done if the work in the beginning had been done well.

Consider your Christian life.  If you have had a rather shaky start, or allowed the world to mingle with your Christianity while you were forming the foundations of your faith, you’ll be fixing it till your last day on earth.  If you’ve begun a strong foundation to your Christianity, you’re likely going to be able to support more weighty problems.  And you’re less likely to be swayed by the winds of wickedness that the world will throw at you.

If you’ve had a shaky start, get in there and strengthen what remains.  Isn’t that what the Lord told us to do?  Keep what you have.  There’s no sense in tearing down what remains.  Refine your faith in the Lord.  Nail down those weak questionable choices you keep making.  Solidify your understanding in the Lord and learn what the Lord’s will is for you.  

Why am I out there sweating like a water faucet today?  I’m out there working on the deck because it needs to be done if I expect it to endure another winter or two.  What about you?   How long do you expect to have to endure this world’s assaults?  1 year?  30 years?  You’d do well to start strengthening yourself now.  The Christian walk either gets harder or easier come the end of your life.  Either you’ve planned and learned well to obey the Lord, or you’ve begun to forget the foundational teachings because you’re letting the world influence your choices.

By His Grace.