To Renew or To Make New Again
Between the harvests of several crops and caring for our animals, farming brings a lot of repair work. Many things on the farm age and need a helping hand to renew them to usefulness. This summer has been no different for us.
My husband has been busy renovating, or bringing back to life, a shed which formerly served as a chicken house, a farrowing barn and a baby calf shed. Now he is fixing it up to become a useful storage area.
In addition to repairing on the farm, our cabin up north has been requiring attention. For a few times this summer we spent some work-weekends looking after the cabin that my father built over 50 years ago. It has been a retreat place for our family for many years.
As with all things, the cabin has begun to show signs of deterioration. So we determined to fix it up. This year has been the year to re-side our little bungalow in the north woods.
When we started tearing off the old siding made of pine boards, we were amazed to see how well-preserved they were after weathering 50 years of sunshine, rain and winter frost and snows. Many boards
came off being still usable for other needs on our humble little cottage.
While we took those boards down off of the cabin, I got a chance to consider my dad’s handiwork. In his early years, he built several cabins for the purpose of selling them. I was very young then and could not appreciate the quality and care he took in his work. So this exercise in renewing the cabin’s exterior brought to me a chance to consider anew the strengths of the man I thought I knew… my dad.
He has been gone now for 12 years. It has been special for me to remember Dad and his work. His work tells a tale about him of which I was not aware.
This little story brings to mind one of the comments from the Apostle Paul in the Holy Bible. It relates to the quality of work and the materials one should use while constructing a building.
In the Scriptures, I Corinthians 3:9, Paul states, “For we are God’s fellow workers, you are God’s field, you are God’s building.” Later he goes on to say in verses 11-14 “For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stone, wood, hay, stubble each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward.”
Now, granted, my dad’s work was with wood and not gold or silver, but as Paul illustrates, if a man’s work lasts, his work brings a reward. Most of the wood Dad used endured at least for the last 50 years. It brought commendation and thankfulness to our hearts for how he crafted and managed his building so his children, his grandchildren and his great-grandchildren could still enjoy it today.
You are a builder too. Remember that the work you do or the life you live will have a lasting benefit for you and others. If it is not, look to the Lord and His Word to get renewed. You can leave a good legacy for others to follow by seeking the Lord. The work or example you leave behind may bless others and please the Lord.
Leave a Reply