How a Carpenter Works…

June 29, 2011

How does a carpenter work

When that Carpenter

Is no ordinary Man

But fully a Man?

An ordinary man can be average

Or above average

In terms of skill

In terms of speed

In terms of workmanship

But how does a carpenter work

When that Carpenter

Is no ordinary Man

Though fully a Man?

How did You look as You planned Your day

And went along Your merry way

Hacking and cutting and measuring

Checking, re-measuring, and attaching?

Did You work all by Yourself

Or did You ever supervise others?

Was Your calling of those fishermen

Not something new of You at all?

If You did work with others, how did they feel

When they saw how perfectly You estimated things

How cleanly You built things?

How did they feel

When, under the sweltering sun

You could still make jokes

Still make them laugh

Always lightening the load?

How did they feel

When they saw how quickly

You worked through Your tasks for the day?

And still turning out perfect work

With nothing sticking out

Where it shouldn’t be?

When Your mom watched You working

Did she ever marvel at what she was seeing?

Did she always shake her head in wonder

Whenever she saw You making

Something beautiful out of the ugly

While getting the dust and grime on Yourself

That You’d just dust off with a nonchalant grin?

Did other carpenters ever want to imitate You?

Did they envy Your skill?

Or the wisdom which embodied You?

Did they see Your face shine with joy

Even at the slightest chore?

Did they ever wonder why You never complained

And always seemed to build some more?

And did those same people who worked with You

See You as You treaded that long, dusty road?

Did they hear the pounding and hammering

Inside the frame that was losing all strength it showed?

How did they feel as they saw Your face splintered…

As You lugged that last piece of timber?

How did they feel as they saw You falter and fall

Knowing they rarely ever saw that, if at all?

Did they remember how You worked with spikes

The same ones that now hold Your hands?

Did they remember how You used to have no trouble

Carrying even the heaviest of the rubble?

Did they ever wonder

And shake their heads at the irony

That the Carpenter is now part

Of that which He used to work with daily?

Is it an accident

Or did You already intend it:

That everyday of Your life

You could run Your hands through timber

And run Your fingers over spikes

As You work and build

Work and build

Looking forward to the day

When You would be building

Your masterpiece

And in that masterpiece

You continued to build

You continue to build

You’ve always been a Builder, haven’t You?

Enjoying the work of Your hands

Knowing that each stroke is perfect

And each cut is just as You want it

If each stroke with You is perfect

Then each blow on Your back had its reason

If each cut is just as You want it

Then each lash against Your flesh accomplished something

Something only You know

Something You want me to know…

Is that how You feel about me, too?

Even when I feel so weak and frail?

If you as a Carpenter could be so proud

Are You as proud of me as well?

And as the master Builder

Here You stand

Satisfied

Knowing that

The Bride You’re making

The beloved one You’re forming

Is exactly how You want her

Is exactly how You’ve meant her to be

And as You stand back

I see the joy in Your face

I see the pride in Your contenance

As You stand back

I see Your smile:

You stand satisfied

It is finished.

Love Gives All

This week, the Lord brought my attention to the first commandment... and showed me that it was a description of the way He loves. It amazed me that He described it as "with all your heart, all your mind, all your soul, all your strength." Could it not have been only "love," period?

And He told me something every interesting: Human love is already very much tinted. We tend to compartmentalize things, like we can “feel” in love with someone but not give much of our time, or not much of an effort. But with God, it’s one whole package. When He says He loves us, He loves us with every beat of His heart, with every fiber of His being, with all that He is!

This is why the teaching that “God is love, but He is also holy,” has some danger in it—it makes us think of God as having many different personalities, when in fact, it is all One. He is holy, there is none like Him, because of who He is, and He is Love. Even His wrath is an expression of His love, as He destroys everything that hinders love.

Can you imagine? This is the picture offered by theLord’s Supper. Jesus is saying to you, “I give you all of Me. Nothing more, nothing less.”

When He says He will show you His love, you will never find the end of it because He is going to be showing you more and more of Himself!

In essence, He is saying, “It won’t be love if I didn’t give you My all.” 

Thank You, Jesus... :) 

Control-Alt-Delete...

I went to bed last night feeling stressed about everything----pulled in all directions, annoyed at other people, frustrated with myself. And the Lord gave me a funny dream: I was with my family, and an aunt, who was well known for chewing people out, was scolding my sister-in-law for something she did that my aunt didn't approve of. Instead of staying silent like I would've done in real life, I spoke up to her, but not disrespectfully: I went up to her a bit after the incident and asked her, "Auntie, do you want me to tell you why you got so angry?" 

She laughed at me and teased, "Oh, so you're a mind-reader now?" 

I was afraid she would turn on me, but for some reason, I was also confident that what I had to say had to be said. 

I went on to explain that whatever my sister-in-law did bugged her because she wanted to know everything before it happened; my aunt needed to know everything was in control, in her control. And it annoyed her to know she wasn't in control. 

In my dream, my aunt was amazed at my insight, and then she left. But I was left mulling, thinking I could've said something more, that she did not always have to be in control, as there was One who was taking care of things, who cared for her enough to be the One whom she could trust to be in control. 

And for some strange reason, in my dream, I realized I was talking to myself! I didn't have to be in control all the time; I'd read worldly books that commended risk-takers who reduced the risk by gaining control, and all that, but my case was different: I didn't have to be in control because Jesus, who loved me more that life, was in control. 

And I'm safe in His hands. :) 

He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also give us all things (Romans 8:32)?

I'm Your Beloved

You've given me

Eyes only for You

You've given me

A heart that's satisfied by You alone

You've ruined me for all that I see

You're ruined me for all that I see

For I am Yours and You are Mine

I am Yours and You are Mine

Forever I'll be...

I'm Your beloved

This is my identity
(I'm Your beloved)
This is my destiny
(I'm Your beloved)
No one can steal this from me
(I'm Your beloved)
You paid the highest price for this to be

(I'm Your beloved)

Jack of All Trades, Master of None--Now Master of One!

I used to think of myself as a jack of all trades, master of none: I could write well, solve math problems fairly quickly, have decent social skills, great leadership skills (as far as school organizations went!). I even had a keen mind for business as well as the arts, knowing how to play many instruments---but never mastering one, I should say. 

This week I'd been pretty stretched thin on all counts, with my brain working overtime in stuff I knew I could benefit learning about. I started exploring the business part of my brain, and of course, there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. 

But tonight He told me something that really struck me: I'm no longer a jack of all trades, master of none---instead, I'm a master of One, His emotions! 

All my brain energy can certainly be put to good use on many varied pursuits, all of which may not necessarily be bad or evil. But I was never created to behold so many things; when He created me, He did not intend for me to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but only from the Tree of Life. 

And the best part is... He reminded me that He Himself has only one thing on His mind: ME! 

I mean, think about it: why else would He choose to revolve human history around the cross, around His becoming human (see the other post I made today, too!) in order to relate to you and me? He chose to revolve human history around the story of His becoming weak, of His showing His love, of His dying for His bride!

He has dove's eyes, my friend, eyes only for you!

I don't know about you, but I love this new tag to my name: Master of Arts, Emotions of God. 

I'm a jack of all trades, but a Master of One---the one thing that is truly needful!

You Became Like Me

You became like me

Took on my weakness

Gave up Your glory

How did You look

As You sat in that boat

As you walked on the streets of cobblestones?

How did you look

As You grew hungry and thirsty

And as they served You delicious food?

You became like me

Took on my weakness

Gave up Your glory

You had no beauty

You had no majesty

Nothing at all to attract me…

How did you look

As You stayed up all night

Healing the sick and all that was not right

How did you look

As You grew tired and weary

As Your eyes started to feel heavy?

You became like me

Took on my weakness

Gave up Your glory

How did You look

As You carried Your cross

Down on the streets of cobblestones?

How did You look

With Your eyes set like flint

To the hill where You chose to die

You became like me

Took on my weakness

Gave up Your glory

How did You look

As they nailed Your hands

As they nailed Your feet to that old rugged cross

How did You look

As You hung on that cross

As You took on my sin

As You became me

And there’s one thing beating

One thing beating

In Your heart

Oh, there’s one thing beating

One thing beating

In Your heart

You became like me

Took on my weakness

Gave up Your glory

All because You loved me

All because You loved me

How did You look

As You breathed Your last

With a sigh that said You were satisfied?

You became like me

Took on my weakness

Gave up Your glory

All because You loved me

All because You loved me

Information Age: What Will Be Next?

First was the Industrial Age, with the boom of factories and manufacturing. (I don't know what came before that, though it's not that relevant to my lifetime hehe) Somewhere down the road, it turned into the whole capitalism scene. And then, the Information Revolution overtook the whole factories and stuff, giving us what we see right now of online businesses. 

As a Business graduate majoring in Marketing, I was musing about these things this past week. In the Industrial Age, we sold actual products (e.g. packaged food, books, even computers). Now, we're selling words! Or more specifically, keywords that represent certain ideas---i.e. something intangible. Think about it: websites pay strong attention to keywords in order to lure the necessary "traffic." Nearly everything has gone virtual, and people think their thirst is for information, for more knowledge. 

But I know better: people aren't looking for knowledge. Soon we will come to realize that all the information in the world and all the money we make off it will never satisfy us! We're looking for something deeper, for affirmation beyond our wildest dreams, for affection that is unconditional and not dictated by how well we perform. 

In other words, we're looking for God. And He's not just some words on a page, He is real and personal, and He is coming to encounter this world like never before. 

Watch out, Information Age, something bigger is coming and taking over your place: The Desire of the Ages is coming to woo and awaken His bride! Yippee!

One Thing vs Many Things

This past week, my mind has been full of ideas---creative ones, I might say. But at the end of the day, I wound up feeling torn between too many directions, and I keep getting reminded that I was called to behold only One thing. 

It's hard to imagine that there's only one thing on His mind, too, considering that He's the most creative Being with all the capabilities and power. Yet He thinks only of ME!

One thing I desire, that I will seek: to gaze at Your beauty, Lord. 

There are many pursuits that are fun and challenging, but only one that is eternal in value: seeing His love for me. 

And that's all that matters.

You are not Threatened!

This past weekend, I did something according to what the Lord instructed and the outcome wasn't as I expected. I ended up in a flurry of tears and frustration, and for some reason, I didn't feel like talking to Him all that day and for a few days after that. 

When I finally got back to our special meeting time, I wondered why He didn't seem to say anything throughout my whole tantrum. And then it struck me: He was not threatened by the accusations in my heart! Just like He was not threatened with Satan's accusations right at the very start, that He was not all good, He just stood silently by and showed His love on the cross. He's confident of His love for me that He knows it's the only thing I'll run to! 

You are not threatened

By the accusations in my heart 

You are not threatened

By the accusations in my heart 

For You know

I will run to You

You know

I will run to You

For You alone are beautiful

You alone are good

You alone are beautiful

You alone are good...

I Can't Stay Away...

In the midst of a busy few weeks, His still small voice came almost as a surprise, but clear nonetheless... *shaking my head* Can hardly believe how excited He is to encounter us in the midst of everything going on in our lives...

I can't stay away from you.... 

Even if you run, even if you busy yourself, 

I will still be here. 

I will never leave you. 

You can never turn me 'off'..

Wow. Where else can you find a love like that? 


Check out the song entitled "I Could Run Away" that captures this amazing heart of God.