Imperfections Resolved

I’m sitting here in my family room looking at the crown molding I had installed by a licensed contractor a few years ago.  There is a separation in the joint where two pieces of molding come together.  This decorative trim is located where the wall intersects the ceiling.

Overtime, the gap occurred due to shrinkage, even though the wood was kiln-dried to prevent contraction.  I attempted to fix the imperfection but used the wrong kind of calking to fill the void. 

When dried, the calking shrunk into the seam, leaving it low and not flushed with the two pieces of wood, which meant I would have to get on my ten-foot ladder with calking gun in hand and fill the imperfection once again.  I did this several times until I found non-shrink calking that brought back the beauty of the crown molding like there was never a separation in the first place.  It was healed, figuratively speaking.

You might ask why it matters so much to fill a space in the crown molding.  It matters to me, because the beauty of the molding is not seen, because one’s eyes go to the separated joint that is ugly, rather than seeing the beautiful handywork that the contractor did.

I realized something profound when looking at the gap.  I thought of God and mankind and the gap, called sin, that occurred in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve disobeyed God and consumed the fruit that He said not to eat.  At that point in time there was a separation between mankind that is willful and disobedient and a holy God, who is perfect in all ways.

Before I had a “Born Again” experience where God forgave me of my adamic nature of sinning, I tried to rectify the gap of impure thoughts in my brain, housed within the crown of my head, with the wrong kind of repair elements which kept me separated from God.

The behaviors of my body and verbal crudeness that proceeded from my mouth revealed to people the imperfections that sin produced.  They did not see the beautiful masterpiece that our Creator formed in my mother’s womb. 

Sin, in time, caused the beauty to disappear and all that could be seen was the ugliness that separation from God created, just like the crown molding in my family room.

Temporary fixes like self-help books and “religion” gave momentary promise in restoring God’s purpose for my life, but things soon began to shrink back into old nature thinking and the gap appeared again.  Time after time when I thought I was showing attainment with the fixes, the separation from God became visible.

It wasn’t until the perfect fix was given to me from God that the gap between me and the Lord was restored.  His gift was to whoever will, which included me.  He gave His only Son, Jesus, who brought newness to our relationship.

 (John 3:16), “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”  

The old look of sin was gone.  The gap was healed forever, because Jesus paid the ultimate price for my sins by giving His life, freely, on a cross so that the beauty of God could be seen and appreciated by those that see Him through me.

I liken my situation to the woman at the well, spoken of in the Bible, (John 4:5-30).  This is interesting reading and will bless you when you grasp the meaning of the story.  I immediately related to the message that Jesus presented to the woman.  It was like He was speaking to me. 

She was looking for healing of her disquieted soul but was looking in all the wrong places to find the proper repair to restore beauty to her wayward lifestyle.  She was trying to quench her thirsting spirit with crack-fillers that failed to get the job done.

Jesus told her that He was the bonding agent that could meet her need…water that she would never thirst again.  He was referring to her search for purpose and life’s meaning and that He had the answer. 

Jesus was the One who could heal the gap between her and God if she wanted it.  Her desire for a fulfilled life and a true bond with her Maker was great and was apparent when she listened to the Lord and said yes to Him.

(Matthew 11:28), “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

I am glad that the building industry has excellent products available to help beautify projects like the crown molding in my family room.  The proper calking certainly enhanced the look of the molding when the ugly gap, now repaired, was finally painted.

Jesus is God’s perfect fix for all needed repairs in our life if only we stop trying to use other means to bring about answers that only He can fulfill.

(Philippians 4:19), “And my God shall supply all you need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

Written by,

Papa Boyd

May 13, 2024