Realistically Speaking
A Parable
We’ve all read the parables in the bible told by Jesus. These cover aspects of the Christian life with the intent to provide examples we can relate to. I have my own parable that I think reflects the Christian walk and while it’s definitely not on the level of the parables in the bible, I think it conveys a similar story.
While installing some cabinets recently, I found myself working in a corner of the room which limited how I positioned my tools. Basically, I could only stand in one place but had to use one hand for one side of the work and the other hand for the other side. As almost everyone knows (except for those blessed with ambidexterity) one hand is more capable than the other. In my case it seems to be a significant discrepancy. I am right-handed and when I need to work with my left hand, it can be frustrating. Having dealt with this for most of my life I decided I would take steps to improve the capabilities of my left hand. Obviously, the way to do this is to start using it more, bypassing the natural inclination to use my dominate hand for things. If anyone has researched how to do this, they will quickly run across the suggestion to use your non-dominate hand to brush your teeth. Some websites even go so far as to say it will improve your cognitive skills, opening new neural pathways in your brain. Sign me up!
It's been several weeks now and while I can proudly say I’ve kept up with the new routine, the Lord has used this to illustrate my walk with him. For example, using my left hand to brush my teeth feels awkward and uncomfortable. This is a lot like a new believer learning what it means to be a Christian. Saying a prayer before the meal, cleaning up the vocabulary, and even changing the channel when that adult show comes on all feel awkward and uncomfortable.
As I keep brushing my teeth with my off hand I begin to wonder if it’s making a difference and lots of times, I feel like quitting. Like the Christian walk, there are times when it feels like what we’re doing isn’t beneficial to anyone and we can become discouraged.
Another thing that spring to mind is the feeling that I’m not doing a good job of brushing my teeth and therefore I should go back to using my right hand so I can be more effective. We may feel this way as Christians at times, that maybe we’ve become too self-righteous or holier than thou and we could be more effective at reaching people if we were more inclined to join them where they’re at or participate in the negative conversations.
All these thoughts occur to me as I labor to improve myself by using my left hand more and while I can’t say I’ve achieved a level of ambidexterity; I can say that I’ve continued to strive toward the goal. This too is like the Christian walk. God asks us to not focus so much on the goal but on the steps, trusting him in the process. In reality, while I can work to improve the use of my left-hand only God can sanctify me and it’s not my effort or discipline, it’s his love and commitment to the process. As it says in Philippians, he who has begun a good work, will continue to perfect and complete it until the time of Christ’s return.
By: B
02/12/2024
"being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Philippians 6:1
