OnFire Encouragement Letter

Hi folks. This week is a neat week. I’ve had an article accepted in Christian Week, which is a Canadian Christian weekly paper based in Winnipeg. Its under a heading called, “Pastor with a Point.” I had 600 words to make my point - to rant, raise a question, state an issue. I’m not going to spoil the surprise here, however. I’ll let you know when it will be published.

Sunday night our church will have an induction service for me. This is a celebration service to formally welcome me into the congregation. Normally we would have had this a little sooner, but better late than never. Since I’m the Pastor of Family Ministries, we have special music lined up which represents all ages of the church. A friend of mine, Delbert Bannister, will speak from Exodus 3. I think that’s neat because that’s where I started when I began to write OnFire.

Speaking of getting to things, this week’s letter comes from reflections as we begin to decorate  our house.

Blessings for your week.

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Jan is painting the living room. This is something we didn't do when we first moved in because of the heat of summer, but now she is getting to it. I have to admit, I'm glad she is doing it, for two reasons. I don't  like to paint, and when it comes to colour, I am lost. When she holds out the sample palette and says "I think I'll paint the hall this colour _ what do you think?" I freeze. I am limited to  white, red, blue, black, brown and green. I'm glad that boat paint only comes in a half_dozen standard hues.

To prepare, Jan has, of course, fixed the little holes and blemishes. This can be a never_ending process. When is good, good enough? One corner in particular was damaged when she removed the wallpaper and so she tried several times to make it smooth again. Several little spots were very difficult but since they would be hidden by the shadows or the furniture, and no one would get close enough to notice anyway, she declared good enough.

Not only that, but paint is great at covering all sorts of blemishes. The smooth, even colour fools us into thinking the wall is perfectly flat.

Paint will make a place look great, but it won't add strength and integrity to walls that are already weak. While we lived in Saint John, a local school closed its gymnasium  after inspectors discovered a brick wall that wobbled when they pushed it. No amount of cosmetic addition would ever prevent it from falling over. In our church in Moncton, we have cracks in our vaulted ceiling. Enamel will not stop chunks of plaster from falling when they let go, and so we have embarked on a repair and renovation project. Painting is not enough.

As Jan has been painting, I couldn’t help thinking about character. There is a difference between appearing solid, and being solid. It is much easier to make myself look good than it is to be good.

The prophet Ezekiel compared the message of false prophets to painted walls. They convinced people their message was solid and trustworthy, but it was good in appearance only. I love how God put the words into his mouth.  "Because they lead my people astray,... and because, when a flimsy wall is built, they cover it with whitewash, therefore tell those who cover it with whitewash that it is going to fall.... When the wall collapses, will people not ask you, ‘Where is the whitewash you covered it with?’" Ezekiel 13:10-12 (NIV)

While Ezekiel was talking about false prophets, the principal is the same. Falsehood in all its forms is like paint on a weak wall. Just as paint has no strength, the outward appearance we project to others means nothing if our inward character is weak. We are often surprised when a Christian, especially a leader, stumbles. But our surprise, I think, has to do with the outward appearance - the “paint.” They looked good while the inner walls of the heart were not.

For me painting is a reminder to make sure the inner matches the outer, that I am not covering inferior character with the appearance of quality.

Jan has arrived home with curtain rods to put up, so its time to go. I hope this helps. Be on fire.

Troy

OnFire is a weekly letter on faith and character written by Troy Dennis. This letter published Sept 18, 2008. To subscribe or reply, email him at onfireletter@gmail.com. Archives are located at www.onfireletter.com