Bzzzzzzzzzzah – Bzzzzzzzah – Bzzzzzzah! The sound of a log being sawn in the sawmill.
Our late father was all but bed-fast and spent most of his day sleeping and watching TV. He had spent the last two days watching one old western after another and had grown tired of them. “What would you like to watch now Dad?” “Sawmill,” he answered. What he meant was that he wanted me to tune in to sawmill videos on the YouTube channel. My brother had found them for him during his last stay and had set them up in his account. Once I understood what Dad wanted it was easy to find. For a little while I watched with him. It was interesting to observe as they loaded one log after another. They zipped off the bark and evened the logs up into squared off sides. But after two or three it began to get somewhat monotonous. Other than the fact that the logs were different sizes and different types of wood., it all seemed like the same thing over and over. I went back to work on my computer but Dad was very content watching them saw up logs. Finally, Dad fell asleep. So, for the next six to eight hours, I listened to the sound of logs being cut up.
But you know, they weren’t just cutting logs. The sawyer realized a purpose for eachof them. Itmay have seemed like the same thing over and over again to me, but the sawmill operator in the video had a plan in mind. Some were once pine trees, while others, poplar, maple, hickory, oak or cherry. Each type of wood was good for a purpose. The pine and poplar were excellent for lumber used in building houses and such. The other types made great furniture. Therefore, even though it may have seemed like a monotonous thing to watch, a closer revelation showed the skill in having a vision for each log. How it was cut was based on what the mill operator envisioned for it. In that light, the endless buzzing of the saw, cutting away the bad parts of the log to reveal the good parts, made much more sense.
That’s sort of the way God sees us, isn’t it? In the letter Paul wrote to the Galatian Church, he was instructing them about our freedom in Christ. A group of Jewish Christians had come to Galatia teaching that they had to follow the Law given them by Moses in addition to their salvation. Paul reprimanded them and reminded them of the freedom they had because of salvation in what Jesus had done for us.
Historically, that has always been a problem in the Church. I suppose that’s because it’s very difficult for us to think about not having to do some sort of personal sacrifice in order to earn our salvation. But Paul taught them that Christ paid the price in full for us.
That doesn’t mean that we can just mouth a few words then go and do whatever we want and expect God to automatically forgive us. But on the other hand, we can’t earn our position in Christ either.
In his instruction to the Galatians, he wrote this, “My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ be formed in you …” (Galatians 4:19). That isn’t a complete sentence and it is part of a bit of a reprimand for their digression back to works. But the words he spoke in that partial sentence mean a great deal to us: “Till Christ be formed in you …” We could say that the Lord is the sawyer and that as He looks each one of us over, He sees what we can be formed into. Of course, to get that out of us there’s a lot of “bark” that needs to be cut off. The sawyer sees the lumber that can build a house, or a fine piece of furniture. But looking at the log only he can see the vision. He has to cut off the bad before others can see what he sees.
God has envisioned what He wants to make of our lives even before we are born. It may seem strange that with all the people on this planet, God has a plan for each and individual. Not everyone is going to come to God, and when they don’t, their life-plan is unrealized. Sad, but true. However, when we do accept Christ as our Savior, then that plan which God had all along begins to be formed in us.
In making that plan a reality, there has to be some cutting off. Each of us is still “in the rough.” Cutting off the bad can be a painful experience. We may respond with something like, “God, why are You letting this happen to me?” or “It hurts, God!” However, when He is finished then we can look back and see that those slabs of bark that have been cut away reveals the beauty of the wood underneath. We become the useful creation God always intended for us to be.
So, the next time you are tempted to complain, just remember that God is more than likely cutting off the bad to reveal the good in you. It might not make the process any less painful, but it can sure make the cutting away make a lot more sense.
— Jerry D. Ousley is the author of “Soul Challenge”, “Soul Journey”, “Ordeal”, “The Spirit Bread Daily Devotional” and his first novel “The Shoe Tree.” Newer books include “Finality” and “Dividing God’s Church.” Visit our website at spiritbread. com to download these and more completely free of charge