But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
2 Corinthians 12:9
As Sara and I near the end of our packing up for our move, yesterday I went through and starting taking things off the walls. As I took down pictures and decorations from the various rooms in our apartment, then had to go back and remove nails and staples, which left marks in the walls that I will have to go back to cover over before we turn in our keys. Otherwise, as is common practice, we would be charged with the damages from simply living a normal, every day life with decorations on our walls. Embellishments to make life more bearable. Photos to boast of our travels. Paintings to add color to our meager existence.
It struck me how removing all of the embellishments and vanity pieces exposed the damages beneath. The scars along the walls that were hidden behind the photos and decorations. What struck me even more was how much of a picture of our lives this has become. When all is stripped away and your life is laid bare, what will be exposed beneath the embellishments of your life? Inevitably, underneath it all, we all bear scars from pains long past. Our natural tendency is to cover up those scars and hide them or distract from them with false impressions that are secondary to the true surface that lies beneath.
We cover up our pain with false joy and laughter. We fill in the cracks with the appearance of wealth and prosperity. We spackle the piercings with vanity and pride. We paint over the blemishes in order to blend in with our surroundings hoping that nobody will see the imperfections beneath. We make our lives a facade while our world continues to crumble from the inside out.
Too often we treat vulnerability as a weakness, but in reality, it is in our weakness that we can find our greatest strength. When we humbly submit to the healing hand of our gracious Lord, He joyfully provides the healing we so desperately need. But we must be willing to strip away the veneer and lay our lives bare before His throne so that He can reach out and touch us and make us whole again. We must learn to be honest with ourselves about the true state of our being before we can really grasp the depth of our need for our Savior.
Then and only then can the Master Builder come in and do the work of restoration that our souls require. He fills in the holes of our pain with healing. He covers the blemishes of our sin with grace. And as a Master Painter, He begins painting a new mural with our lives that outshines the dull, drab white-washed walls of our heart.
Open your heart today to the joy of the Savior. Let Him transform your mind and bring peace to your troubled heart.
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