Aerospace Ways
Originally scheduled for
July 12
It is
not long before the beginning aerospace engineer will hear the phrase, “Beat to
shape, trim to fit, paint to match.” When the internal design changes, it
often requires the surface of the aircraft to be modified – to keep the
aircraft flying. Christianity has somewhat the same process.
“Beat
to shape” – in the original, changing the shape of the sheet metal as
required. For the Christian it might take one of these forms:
God
may use our trials to bring us to salvation – those who found Christ as an
adult often have this experience.
Once
we are Christians, God often uses our pain and suffering to shape us a
particular type of Christian, to encourage others.
Often
enough our trials are shared – so that in their endurance we may be brought
together to be one.
“Trim
to fit” – the major changes made in pain in suffering, other changes made in
quieter (and perhaps deeper) ways.
How
often the teacher hears someone tell him that his lesson must have been
tailored just for that one person. No, just God trimming.
Sometimes
it’s reading a particular author; how many lives have changed by reading C. S.
Lewis?
Such
minor corrections are given to us in the examples of others.
“Paint
to match” – making the appearance on the outside be consistent. Why would a
Christian be concerned with appearances? Because they are a way of telling the
truth. On the inside we have received the grace and glory of God, given at the
Cross. On the outside, therefore, we must tell that truth.
We
have been given a way to do this in Communion. For as often as you partake,
you proclaim the Lord’s death – and thus the grace that flows with it and the
glory of God who gives it. He is making you into what he wants you to be;
acknowledge this, and let the world see it too.
