Cracks In Your Wall

It’s easy to forget that we are the love interest of the Father.
On the flip side it’s easy to forget that we are hated by the enemy.
On Sunday Paul Carlberg gave us a good visual of how satan stalks us. Crouched over swaying back and forth, waiting for an opportunity to slither into the cracks in our wall. We barely notice until the cracks become holes and we’re in deep trouble.

This verse in I Corinthians 10 comes after Paul explains how the Israelites were completely provided for out in the wilderness and yet still they grumbled and complained and let the cracks in their walls grow wider and wider until they felt the need to create their own idols to worship. “Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did.” (verse 6).

Where do your cracks come from? Are you discontent like those in the wilderness? Are you anxious, worried about things you have no control over? Or do you keep control over everything as tightly as possible so trust and faith have no part in your life.
How about stuff, does it have a grip on you?
What is your heart settling for? It may not seem evil, but think on it, where does it lead you?

Laura Wilde had some great insight and reflection on Paul’s sermon.
This is what she wrote:
“Pastor Paul’s sermon today about guarding our cracks reminded me of a technique in Japanese pottery called kintsugi. Simply, it is the art of repairing broken ceramics using gold or other precious metals, but the philosophy behind it is that something broken can be made even more beautiful by filling and enhancing its cracks.

While we still live in this fallen world, we will always have our human nature to wrestle with. We will always have our cracks, whether because of our own sin, because others sin against us, or because God permits suffering in our lives to build within us patient endurance. And even though we know we worship a loving Father, one who gifted us with the blood of Christ so that we might be restored through His saving grace, certain experiences can still leave us feeling ugly and broken. Some days, we look in the mirror, and we don’t like what we see; so often, we try to hide our cracks rather than allow God to shine through them.

The thing is, I think we first have to break before we can truly begin to fathom the depths of His mercy, His kindness, His compassion. Only when we recognize our brokenness can we understand the tragedy and depravity from which He rescues us.

But sometimes, those cracks linger for years as reminders of the pain. Sometimes, those cracks creep up on us, and we may not even realize that we’re using them as excuses to self-medicate. When we turn to our own temptations and our own strengths to pull ourselves together, I imagine that the result looks something like a three-year-old slathering gobs of glue everywhere and creating an even bigger mess than the broken pieces themselves. However, if we ask God to fill in our cracks with His most precious gift—Jesus Christ—then I imagine we look more beautiful to Him than before we were ever broken.”