There was once a man who built a shed. He purchased blueprints, materials and with hand tools he crafted it for his own unique purposes. From the foundation, to the walls and roof, every detail was thoroughly thought out, even to the doors, windows and shelves. When the project was complete he invited a friend over to show him what he had done. The friend was so impressed that he desired to build one of his own. The man offered to build it for him as a friendly gesture, but needed to know what exactly his needs were.
“No need for that,” the friend quickly interrupted, “I really need to get started.”
“At least let me help you,” the man said. “We can work side by side as partners to get this done for you.”
“That won’t be necessary,” the friend abruptly explained. “I get what you are doing here. I have my own tools. Just let me get some measurements off of your shed, and I’ll build what I need.”
The man finally offered, “May I at least loan you the blueprints to guide you?”
“Keep your blueprints. I’m on my way. I’ll let you know how it goes.” The friend said this and left.
A great deal of time later, the friend invited the man to the inaugural celebration of the completion of the tenth shed. The friend said, “It is unbelievable what you have inspired! These sheds seem to be popping up everywhere since my first facsimile. I haven’t seen this one yet, but I’m sure you won’t believe what we have been able to accomplish.”
The friend was right, for when the man saw the tenth facsimile of the original, it not only had no resemblance to the inspiration, but the entire construction was perfectly useless. The edifice was a monstrous monstrosity. The foundation was unstable; the windows were gone; the doorway was too narrow to enter in; the roofline was so low a person could not comfortably work in it and finally entire facsimile was built as some sort of embellished ornate thing that it had lost all of its functionality and practicality.
The man questioned, “How did this happen?”
“I don’t know, but isn’t it a wonder,” the friend exclaimed! “It really doesn’t matter. This shed alone is worth ten times ten of what your old pathetic little utility shed is worth.”
“Well, at least my shed still serves me well,” the man said, as he walked away in disappointment.
(Excerpt from my new book, "Identifying the Believer", Chapter 9, "We are the Church")
Saturday, January 22, 2011
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