NO INSTRUCTIONS
My wife and daughter really enjoy crocheting—making animals or afghans out of colored yarn. When there’s a pattern to follow, progress is usually pretty speedy. A crocheted bear or blanket begins to take shape and, soon, the real world contains something that before was only a recipe. My daughter, in particular, has brought far too many of these stringy beasts into the real world! (I’m mostly kidding, I think.)
On one occasion, the two of them worked out an all-new crochet pattern from scratch—a pattern for a common board game piece that looks like a little person: a “meeple.” Now that they have a pattern, crocheting a meeple takes just a few hours. But creating the pattern itself—that process took hundreds of hours.
Whenever something completely new is attempted, there are never instructions. Someone will need to do the work necessary to figure out how the thing might be done. This usually means much brainstorming and many failed ideas, always in search of that one best solution.
Imagine if, instead of a meeple, my wife and daughter had been trying to dream up (let’s say) the wheel from scratch. There’s a reason we have a cliché for this: reinventing the wheel is a colossal waste of time. When you have a perfectly good pattern, you should use it.
Many of us seem to sort of muddle through life. I’m sure you’ve heard grumblings about marriage (or parenting) not coming with an instruction manual. Certainly, what we ought to do in life is not always obvious. Many of us might seem to have our act together, but time and again we slip and are found out: we do a lot of winging it. If we’re following any pattern at all, it’s a flawed one. But maybe there’s a better way:
“I gave you an example, so that you also would do just as I did for you.” -Jesus
“Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you would follow in His steps.” -Peter
“Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.” -Paul
“Join in following my example, observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us.” -Paul
“The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things.” -Paul
Examples and patterns. Practicing, following, observing, and imitating. Steps on a walk. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel—we already have the instructions. When Peter speaks of the “example” of Christ, he uses a word which means “the writing underneath.” Like children learning to write by tracing over pre-written letters and numbers, we learn by attempting to walk as He walked. It is Jesus Himself who is the pattern—His entire character, all His words, His deeds, His emotions, and His interactions. These are the steps. He is the Way.
“He is the image of the invisible God.” -Paul
Jesus Himself is the invisible God—made visible. From the way He lived, even to the way He died, Jesus shows us the very heart of God. But, how does seeing His righteousness help us to be righteous? Having a perfect pattern doesn’t mean we have the skill to carry it out. (Pattern or no pattern, I myself can’t make meeples.) The secret here is the same as we’ve seen before—spiritually, true seeking guarantees finding:
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.” -Jesus
It is this hungering and thirsting that I’ve hoped to instill in all who read these writings. My prayer is that you would discover that the perfect righteousness of Christ is no bogus bluff—that He really is who He says He is, our worthy Example. Seeing Him as worth imitating is hungering and thirsting. Jesus promises: if you desire righteousness, that desire will be satisfied. But remember, all growth takes time:
“We all, looking as in a mirror at the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image.” -Paul
We are being transformed. His image is becoming clearer in us as we look to Him. It is as we behold Him that we are changed. This is what is meant by practice. We develop a habit of looking to His glory, and hungering for His righteousness—seeing the beauty in His thoughts and ways. Then, by His working, His pattern begins to take shape in us, in the real world:
“God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, who are called according to His purpose. Those He foreknew, He predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.” -Paul
Our destiny, if we love God, is to take on the image of Jesus—to become His brothers and sisters. God Himself makes everything to work together for this purpose, transforming us to be like Jesus. If we love Him, we already want this—to walk His path and be fashioned after His image, to be righteous. And the assurance Jesus gives to such seekers is unflinching:
“Seek first His kingdom and righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” -Jesus
Your pattern is perfectly worked out, and your Crafter is assuredly very skilled. Do let Him make you.