Bookshelves of Righteousness

Particle board is a specific type of wood. It can technically be classified as wood. I mean if you break down what characteristics make up "wood" particle board fits at least some or even most of them. Particle board is 'wood' that is made from sawdust. When sawmills cut pieces of lumber down to size there is alot of scrap that is shredded as sawdust. This sawdust is swept up, combined with a glue type mixture and when it dries you have some fake cheap wood. This particle board is commonly found on cheap furniture.

Oak wood on the other hand is an incredibly durable wood. It can certainly be classified as a wood. It's cut down from a very sturdy tree and trimmed to perfect pieces of lumber, it's used for more high quality and longer lasting furniture.

Christians relate to this simple analogy quite well. We all start as planted tree. Some of us die to ourselves. We are cut down. Our old purpose removed. But by grace we are given a new purpose. To serve our purpose we are trimmed. We are polished. We are made into something new. We are called to furniture. We are called to be bookshelves.

The fact is that there are some Christians out there, that are particle board bookshelves. They at one time were cut down, and given a new purpose. But they stayed with the scrap. They couldn't deal with the stresses of the trimming and polishing. The clung to a 'filler' some glue mixture that made them feel whole again. They clung to this filler so badly that it became a part of them. When this type of Christian is made into a bookshelf it often falls apart quickly.

As bookshelves God wants to fill us with more books. He wants to fill us with authenticity and he wants to empower us to to become beautiful furniture pieces. The fact is that particle board Christians aren't able to take on more books. When they reach capacity they begin to fall apart. As particle board falls apart it cannot be repaired unless with more glue, as it cannot be held together well with hardware (nails, screws, etc) because it will fall apart more. A particle board bookshelf looks like a regular bookshelf. It indeed has books on it. It might look sturdy and reliable, it might look full of wisdom, but on the inside this particle board person is falling apart. Some people out there may even swear that the bookshelf is totally genuine. "High Quality" a sign in a sales department might even read. But the fact is that even in the confusion of identity. Particle board is always particle board.

The true wood on the other hand, endures. It can be treated and sealed and last for hundreds, even thousands of years. It can be nice to look at, as the works of its life are apparent. It can continue to grow and contain more and more books, and not break down. This doesn't mean that there is no stress on the shelves. The weight of the books bear down greatly on the true wood. But through being trimmed, polished, and treated by a good keeper it will continue to serve its purpose for a lifetime.

The fact is that God calls us to be true wood bookshelves. Not particle board, imitation bookshelves. Even if we confuse our friends, our family, and our church, God is not confused. He cannot give us more books or repair us if we are living as a particle board person.

What hope does a particle board person have? This is the good news; they have hope, and great hope. Because God can separate them from their glue. Heal their life and replant them as a tree. Through nourishment of a good keeper they will grow into a true oak. After which time God can again use them to become a true bookshelf.

Where is your treasure?

Recently, I  dedicated my spring break to God. Spring break is a time that most college students look forward to relaxing, getting caught up, or even parties in Mexico. But God has something a little different planned for myself and 7 others. We traveled to St. Louis Missouri. We took this plunge to learn about ourselves, our community, our cities, and even our God. This was the second time that I took this trip and I was unsure about how it would play out. I had a million and a half questions going into it. What will I learn? Why am I going? How will I be changed? All of these questions were quickly silenced one day right before the trip. God came to me, I was desperate for answers, and all he said was "Go!" Said with an attitude of "come and see." So I went.

What my team and I did in St. Louis
We got to attend a very diverse and multicultural church. We got to live in community. We got to experience and live in the inner city. We got to learn about God's burning heart for justice. We got to experience different cultures foods and traditions. We were taken care of by a family that truly exemplifies hospitality. We got to worship God through dancing, and singing in Swahili with Congolese refugees. Experienced God in a way we never expected. Established lasting friendships. Got to follow Gods will to change ourselves and our campus.

As you can see the trip was loaded, it went by so fast however. On Thursday, the last day before the trip ended I was waiting to see what I was going to bring back to my campus. Last year, I had a good idea of how I needed to change, and how I needed to change my campus by the first few days. But this year the end of the trip was drawing near, and I found myself still confused. I have a heart of these people. I knew the statistics. I had prayed for the pain. What was the big thing I was missing? How was I going to change my campus?

My service project involved working with kids ages 3 through 13 to make Pinewood Derby cars. A simple car that is cut out of a block of wood. On Thursday I set up a section of the race track. The students were going to have a school wide race on Friday, and I wanted to give the kids the chance to practice racing their car. There was one boy who refused to race is car. He was just sitting in the corner playing with it. I went over to Issac and asked him why he didn't want to race. He told me that this little pinewood derby car was so special to him. He told me that it was the only toy that was all his. That he spent time and effort on it, and it was very special to him. He didn't want to race it because he wanted to take it home and show his parents and play with it.

This boy was attending a private school, and I assumed that he was much more blessed than some of the other children in this city. This little piece of wood with wheels meant so much to him. He truly cherished it. Scripture about a man finding a pearl of great value, and selling everything to buy it. Or the man and the treasure in the field. What were my treasures? It dawned it my in that instant. No booming word of God. No flash of light. No mind exploding moment. In this simple conversation with a 5 year old I realized I was a slave.

A slave to money and my possessions. I began to think about how hard it would be to give up some of the things I was blessed with. I mean perhaps if commanded by Jesus himself, but I hold on to these things so tight, it would pain me to give them up. I no longer own my things, they own me. They have consumed me and warped my view of value. The things that are important to me, and that are valuable to me, will all fade to dust one day. Nothing I own can outlast eternity. But God, Scripture, Jesus, these things that I push aside sometimes, will outlast eternity.

Such a upside down Kingdom aspect. The things that are priceless are given as a gift. Things that have no value cost me the most. So that is what I took with me to my home and to my campus. It was hard at first and honestly, it still is. I came home with a support structure of 7 people who care about me and have been praying and providing me with advice. But now I am even better equip to share the Gospel. Because some of the best news I have heard in a while is that life everlasting, something so completely priceless is offered to us for free. If you don't wanna take my word for it, contact a financial adviser or accountant. But in my opinion, the most profitable deal of a lifetime is presented to you right now. I think you should take it!

Ask the Author

In 4 days I will be leaving for St. Louis, MI. I'm heading there with a team of 7 other people to work in the inner city to bring restoration. I participated in this event last year and as its here already I have been thinking about my previous experience. If I trace my faith back it was this event that truly helped me to make the decisions to follow Jesus. While I was saved when I participated in this experience it wasn't until I was in that place that I made a commitment to become a follower.

The experience was overall amazing. I formed strong and lasting relationships with my team. I developed a heart for a overlooked population that dwells among us. I encountered God in a way that was tangible. I brought restoration to place that's facing destruction. But there was something that happened there which to me surpassed all things I brought away from my trip.

I can remember vividly the details, and believe me when I say that the situation sounds so odd. But one day while I was at St. Louis we were having some free time. I can't remember why, but I was upset. I had been having a great trip but something had me really down. I decided to go on a walk and just spend some time alone. I walked out to this little playground that was on the site. I crawled into this tiny little pipe crawl space and chilled there for a while. It was in this tiny, uncomfortable space that I had one of the best conversations I have ever had with God.

God met me in this tiny little crawl space. The first thing he did was tell me that he was proud of me for doing something that was terrifying. It was just uncomfortable, I was absolutely fearful of the trip. He then told me why I was there. I was there because God wanted to teach me about myself. A concept that seemed so strange at the time. He told me that he wanted to teach me why I was the way that I was. I was having a conversation with the author of my life. He was telling me his ideas and I was just watching the story fall into place. I thought I knew everything about myself. What I liked and didn't like. How wrong I was. I never would have said I had a heart for St. Louis or the people I would meet there, and I was 100% wrong. God revealed to me why I cared, and how he had designed me to love justice. It was a total shock of humility. Getting to have the creator explain his reasons for why he did something was nothing short of mind blowing.

Now one year later, my life is completely changed from that experience. I am once again acting in obedience to God and going back. I am eagerly awaiting to see how different and yet still life changing this time around will be.

This event was absolutely critical to my faith and my life, more stories to come at some point. Please consider supporting myself as well as my team with prayer and financially. Two of my teammates created a blog to help there raise the financial support to get them on this trip. Please check it out here and consider supporting them. Also if you would like to receive a prayer card and support us with prayer please email me at Chris@nau.edu and I would love to get you those materials.