Building Models as a Metaphor for the Fruitful Christian Life: Introduction

Living a fruitful Christian life is a lot like putting together the model cars, planes, boats, etc. many of us built as kids. As explained in the next several posts, God gives all we need for a very good outcome, but we must get started and stay on task, and follow His instructions, to put together what He wants.

(A series of images dealing with building models was posted January 10, 2005 here, here, here, and here.)

Building Models as a Metaphor for the Fruitful Christian Life: We Are Given All We Need

The manufactuer of a model provides everything needed to create a pleasing result: a design, all the parts, and instructions on how to assemble it.

God likewise provides all we need for a fruitful Christian life. He has a plan for each of us, a result that will be very pleasing, both to Him and us, if we carry it through to completion. Psalm 139:13-16; Jeremiah 29:11. He gives us all we need to get it done: our interests and natural talents, John 3:27; I Corinthians 4:7, the spiritual gifts he gives us upon salvation, Romans 12:6-13; I Corinthians. 12:4-11; Ephesians 4:7, 11-13, and the fruits of the Spirit we develop as we walk with him. Galatians 5:22. He also gives us, through scripture, instructions on how to put all those things together, Psalm119:6, 9, 14-16, 97-99, 105; Proverbs 4:4-13, 20-22, 20-22; II Timothy 3:15-17 , and supplements that with special help through prayer, James 1:5, good teaching, and counsel from our fellow believers.

It’s all there, but we must make the effort to put it together.

(A series of images dealing with building models was posted January 10, 2005 here, here, here, and here.

Images about God providing things we need, but can’t provide for ourselves, were posted September 12a, 17a, and 18c, October 3a, 3b November 6, 10, 21 and 27, 2004 and January 2, 10b, and 10c, June 13 and 27, 2005.)

Building Models as a Metaphor for the Fruitful Christian Life: Getting Started and Keeping At It.

Another way that leading a fruitful Christian life is like building a model is that we have to start, and keep, working at it.

Many of us had the experience as kids of buying a really neat looking model, taking it home, but being overwhelmed by its complexity once we opened the box. Or maybe something else—a ball game, a TV show, our buddies—distracted us from getting past the initial steps of assembling it. We put the model aside, delaying, or perhaps completely abandoning, the joy of competing it.

The same thing happens in our Christian lives. God gives us a glimpse of His plans and we eagerly buy into them. But once we get started, it becomes apparent that they’re much harder to execute than we anticipated and we are sorely tempted to set them aside. That's aggravated by the many other things competing for our time. The result is the same: we don’t get the joy of doing God’s will.

The good news is that help is available. Just as our parents were usually eager to help if we asked (indeed, some enjoyed the process more than we did), our Heavenly Father is more than happy to help us implement His plans. He created the parts and wrote the instructions, so He knows just what we need. Like a good parent, He won’t jump in unless we ask for His help (although he may nudge us to get back at it), but He eagerly awaits our request and is happy to help us put things together.

That doesn’t mean that we don't have serious work to do, but it does mean that we can get it done, and done right, with His help. All we have to do is ask.

(A series of images dealing with building models was posted January 10, 2005 here, here, here, and here.

Images about diligence/perseverance in doing God’s will were posted on October 1, 3a, 8, and 17 and November 7, 2004 and January 10c, June 11, 13, and 18; July 15 and August 27, 2005.

Images about God providing things we need, but can’t provide for ourselves, were posted September 12a, 17a, and 18c, October 3a, 3b November 6, 10, 21 and 27, 2004 and January 2, 10b, and 10c, June 13 and 27, 2005.)

Building Models as a Metaphor for the Fruitful Christian Life: Following the Instructions

There is another dynamic common to building models and living a fruitful Christian life: the results of following instructions.

Some models turn out better than others

The end quality of a model is directly related to how closely one follows the instructions.

One child eye balls it, putting the model together without looking at the instructions. That results in something that resembles the picture on the box, but only in a general way. Although the end product will definitely be identifiable as replica of the model’s subject, a lot of the details are absent, some parts don’t line up, and it can’t do all the things that it could have if it was built per the instructions.

Another reads and more or less follows the instructions, but skips some difficult steps. The end product is noticeably better, but still not all there. It looks more like the picture than the first child’s product, and is able to do more, but the skipped steps prevent it from being all it was designed to be.

A third child takes the time to really understand the instructions; he reads them, rereads them, and thinks about them until he understands them. He asks for help to make sure he really “gets it.” He does his best to follow those instructions, even the challenging parts, asking others for special help with them. His model will turn out closest to the ideal. It’s the most like it's supposed to be and comes closest to being able to do all the things the designer intended.

Some lives are more fruitful than others

We see the same pattern in the church.

Some folks don’t spend much time in God’s word. They basically wing it. Through the gifts of the Spirit, their lives do indeed resemble Jesus’, but in a rough kind of way. They are missing some things, other parts of their lives don’t quite line up, and they don't do nearly as much as God made them capable of doing.

Others do spend time in the Word, God’s instructions, and do try to live by it most of the time. But some things seem too hard and parts of their lives are not fully submitted to God. They look more like the ideal, but the ways they deviate from the instructions definitely degrades their performance.

Finally, there are those who spend enough time in the Word, and in prayer, to realize what needs done. They ask God, and their fellow believers, to help them live out God’s will, particularly the tough parts. They make the most of what God gives them and come closest to what God has in mind.

Now we all know that none of us will perfectly implement God’s instructions, just as no one (at least no one I knew) ever perfectly assembled a model. But there’s no denying that the quality of our walk is directly related to how closely we follow God’s instructions.

(A series of images dealing with building models was posted January 10, 2005 here, here, here, and here.

Images about conforming/yielding to God were posted September 12a, 18a, 18b, 18d, and 23; October 3 and 3a, November 6; and 21, December 8, 12, and 15, 2004 and January 10d, February 18, May 11, June 18 and 27; August 21 and 27; and October 3, 2005.

Images about the importance of exercising the spiritual disciplines were posted September 17a, 18a, and 18d, and October 3a, and 8, 2004 and January 10d and August 27, 2005.)

What We Can Learn about God from Being Parents: The Father Can Handle It With Ease, Regardless of How Difficult it Looks to Us.

Just as things that seem impossible to a toddler can be effortlessly achieved by her parent, things that look impossible to adults are no problem for our Heavenly Father.

(Other images comparing our relationship with God with our relationship to our children can be found at What We Can Learn About God From Being Parents.

Images about God providing things we need, but can’t provide for ourselves, were posted September 12a, 17a, and 18c, October 3a, 3b November 6, 10, 21 and 27, 2004 and January 2, 10b, and 10c, June 13 and 27, 2005.)