Christian Veneer
March 31, 2010
When I was a kid we lived in Hawaii. My shop teacher had us make a coffee table and I chose a piece of Koa wood. For years I have kept the table and everytime we moved, we hauled it with us. Some months ago I began to wonder if I could have veneers cut from the table to make a traditional bow. One of my hobbies is to shoot and hunt with a longbow and recurve. So I took the table to my friends at Black Widow Bows, in Nixa, MO. I asked Toby if I could get a bow from this wood and if it would shoot ok. Toby said – we can get any bow to shoot good using any veneers because it is not on the outside but what is inside that matters. The outside is for looks – the inside makes the character of the bow.
Toby may not have realized that what he said characterizes many in our churches today. On the outside we can look like whatever we want to look like; however it is the inside that counts. On the inside you find the real character of the person and you find if that person is truly born of God or not. Peter, in one of his letters said – Make your calling and election sure!
The truth of the matter is that a veneer on the outside of the bow is for looks only and gives no indication of the quality or ability of the bow to “fling” arrows. And, the veneer of a person does not always indicate where that personal is spiritually. Theologian R. C. Sproul once said that if you think about it, people are all really more like Adolf Hitler than like Jesus Christ. The Bible says – ALL have sinned and come short of the glory of God. If given the opportunity man would choose sin; and that is why sin can only be cleansed by Christ’s shed blood. That is why the Cross is a necessity.
My friend at Black Widow said a great spiritual truth, perhaps without realizing it. Veneers are for show. You have to look inside to see what is real! The veneer on a life says nothing – or maybe it says a lot!
