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A Lesson In Broken Glass

Posted by Lewis Butler , 21 September 2016 · 1435 views

…forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 3:13,14)

 

A few years ago I invited a messianic Jewish evangelist to come speak to the congregation about his understanding concerning Hebrew roots and the church. During one of his messages he gave a wonderful illustration that really blessed me. I want to share it with you in hopes God will use it to encourage you as well.

 

The evangelist told us he visited England each year for special meetings. In one of those visits he visited a famous glassblowers’ shop. With wonderment and awe he watched a master glassblower work his art. The glassblower created beautiful and seemingly flawless artistic masterpieces right in front of his eyes. The evangelist wondered about the glassblower. He thought about the years it would take in order to master such a craft.

 

When the glassblower was finished with one of his creations the evangelist began to speak with him. He asked him what one had to do in order to become a master glassblower. The man merely answered, “You have to break a lot of glass.” His answer let the evangelist know that his life had been filled with imperfection and mistakes. The difference between him and others was simply that this glassblower never gave up his pursuit to master his craft. He came to class every day. Broken glass and deformed pieces of work came with the territory if one was to excel as a glassblower.

 

What would have happened to this man if he had responded to his failures by giving up and never coming back to class? The answer is simple. He would have never become a glassblower, nor would he ever have become a famous master at his craft. Beauty that had blessed multitudes would never have found its mark on admiring hearts.

 

This is a lot like the Christian life. We are always learning. In the process we shouldn’t be surprised that we break some glass along the way. God certainly isn’t. The broken glass is necessary to teach us things we need to know and understand about God and life. When the glass breaks so many students get discouraged and quit coming to class. They are convinced the Teacher (Jesus) must think they are no good and are failures.

 

They think like this because they have an accuser that tells us them they are awful, and that they are fools for even trying to live for Christ. The accuser of the brethren displays their dismal failures before them, shaming them with hellish laughter and mockery. He tells them the teacher of the class is so disappointed in them and that they should stop coming. This accuser will never speak of their potential, or the teacher’s unconditional love for His students. Instead he will only speak only of their imperfections and mistakes and compare them to genuine works of art. Sadly, they look at all the broken glass around them and find themselves in agreement with their accuser. They lose hope and begin to skip class using all kinds of excuses and justifications. But in reality they have accepted the lies of the accuser and have given up.

 

However, the real truth is that their teacher thinks totally opposite of what the accuser speaks. Our broken glass will never upset the Teacher. It is anticipated. The Teachers’ heart is never that students quit, but only that they keep coming back to class. The Christian life is one of growing in grace, not “arriving in grace”. The blood of Jesus has paid for all the broken glass of every student. His hearts’ desire is that we finish our course. The God of the bible doesn’t concentrate on His children’s broken glass. He concentrates on the blood of His Son that Paid for it all.

 

So if you have listened to the voice of the accuser and are discouraged, ashamed, defeated or anything else and have left class, then I have only one thing to say to you. “Get back to class and your Teacher!!!”



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