On Getting Rusty

Have you ever gone to use something that you haven't used in awhile and then it doesn't work correctly anymore?

Yeah, me too.

As I continue to get situated in my office at my new church, I have been met with a few small challenges. Today, I went to print something from my office printer (which is conveniently stuck UNDER my desk--perhaps it would be wise to move it to a more convenient location....hmmm.....). Anyway, as I looked at my printed sheet of paper, I was greeted by a hideous arrangement of random blotches and lines instead of my nice, clean printout.

What to do? Well, over the next 30 minutes I commenced a major cleaning project of the heads of my ink cartridges in an attempt to restore the functionality of the printer. Lest I fool you into thinking that I'm Mr. Handyman, all it took was calibrating the device electronically (ok, I just pressed OK a few times in the self-cleaning tutorial).

I don't know exactly why my printer was so jacked up, but I'm guessing it's because it hadn't been used in awhile (either that, or it had some sort of internal ink explosion due to a hacking attempt--but I'm still going with my lack-of-use theory). If so, then this printer is not much different from everything else that we have, be it those rusty old pliers, that old car on blocks in your backyard, or that old fishing rod & reel combo in the corner of your garage.

It's also not much different from your faith. If you don't use it, it gets rusty and doesn't work correctly.

When was the last time you spent time in prayer? When was the last time you meditated on God's Word? When was the last time you truly worshiped God in spirit and truth? When was the last time you actually shared your faith with someone?

It's kind of hard to work with rusty tools. They just can't perform at their full potential. Likewise, it's hard for God to use us effectively if we're spiritually rusty. We just can't perform at our full potential.

How do we fix that? Well, we clean up the condition of the tool. In the case of our hearts, we ask for forgiveness and seek the cleansing spirit of God's mercy. As we are cleansed, we are restored to a right fellowship with the Lord, and we become useful in his hands, capable of doing great and mighty things for the glory of the Lord. There is no person beyond the cleansing power of God's grace.

What's holding you back? What's forming rust in your heart?

Get clean, and stay sharp. You'll be surprised at how well you can perform in God's hands.