The other day my kitchen tap exploded. I mean… EXPLODED.
I turned the tap on and the whole top end of the unit flew off, with a washer smashing me in the face, leaving a nice black bruise over my eye.
Frustrated… I looked at that silver serpent and screached, “I will fix you!”
I grabbed some superglue, applied it to where the washer was… and then stuck that tap back into it’s pipe.
Soon after, I turned the tap on and…
BOOM!
It exploded again.
That flaming “super” glue didn’t work!
I stopped, I considered my options, and then I grabbed the super glue again and drenched that tap once more. I then placed it back into its’ pipe, but this time I left it there overnight.
The next day I turned it on, and the tap stayed right where I put it. In fact, it hasn’t moved since.
So, what was the difference that made the difference? Same glue, same tap, different results…
The difference that made the difference was TIME FOR ACCEPTANCE TO TAKE PLACE.
I gave the tap and the pipe time. I allowed the two to bond together, I waited until the pipe had accepted the glue, and the two surfaces had become one because of it.
In Mark 4, Jesus, tells a story of a farmer who sows seeds on all sorts of soil surfaces. Most of his seed doesn’t “work”, in that it fails to produce results. There are, however, some seeds that do work, they actually produce the desired results.
He says of this seed that does work, “the seed that fell on good soil represents those who hear and ACCEPT God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted.” (v. 20)
These seeds “work”, because they are accepted by the soil that they are planted in. All of the seeds in the story are the same, but the results are different depending on the receptivity of the surface on which they are sown.
Christianity that produces results / actually works is Christianity that takes the time to accept what God says and is saying.
Let me give you an example.
Here is a truth from God’s word: “Jesus loves you, so much so, that He would die for you.” (John 3:16 and others)
A great truth. When taken and applied, it will make you feel good about yourself and will give you fuel for your day… until trials and temptations come along that make you question if this is actually true, or just as importantly, if this truth actually works and produces results in your life.
Too often, as I did, with the super glue… Christians hear a truth, rush off to apply it, but don’t stop and take the time to truly accept it. There is a key difference between applying and accepting. If we want a Christianity that works, we must let the word sink in, meditate on it day and night, and let it become a part of who we are.
On most super glue packaging we are told “for best results, leave for 24 hours”. There may be an initial bond after just a few, but strength and maturity comes with time.
Don’t stress. If “failed faith” has been your reality, you are not alone. Many Christians, for many many years, have faced similar circumstances; The early disciples included.
Just after giving his disciples this teaching about seeds and soil, Jesus is sleeping in a boat during a storm, when He is awoken by these same people.
He turns to them and says…“Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” (v. 40).
These disciples had seen Jesus perform several miracles, and yet when faced with a storm, they didn’t have faith for another. They had been with Jesus, but they were still in the process of truly accepting Jesus. They needed more time to solidify that Jesus is who He says He is and that His word never fails.
What is a truth in the Bible that you feel hasn’t or doesn’t work in your life?
For the next few weeks (or years), work on this one thing, hearing it and accepting it. Don’t run off applying and testing it… just yet. Give it more than 24 hours to sink in… then, when you turn the tap on again, you might just find that the word works… it sticks, and through you, it produces the most amazing results.
– Andrew
- The Scarboroughs - 