I love fishing. Let me rephrase that, I love to catch fish. There's something invigorating about when you feel the tug on the line and see the fish coming near you as you pull it out of the water and into your hands. It makes all of the effort of obtaining a fishing license, buying bait and standing by the lake worth while. Although, this week I was reminded that there is an important process that takes place after the fish is caught before it can accomplish the purpose for which I caught it.
This past Sunday evening I pulled some fish out of the freezer so that my wife could work her wonders on the grill but before she could cook them I had to go through the long and often disturbing process of cleaning them. I'll admit that the process took longer than I thought and was messier than I had prepared for but it had to be done if we were going to see the fish fit into our plan. 1 fish, 2 fish, 3 fish and it started to get messy. 4 fish, 5 fish, 6 fish and the house began to smell like the world the fish came from. 7 fish, 8 fish and both the kitchen & I were covered in scales but I kept on cleaning and even though I was frustrated through the process the only alternative to pressing forward would have been to give up on the potential of the fish. After more than an hour of being covered in mess I was able to clean up and enjoy the fruits (or "fish") of my labor.
What does that have to do with new life in Christ? I'm glad you asked,as you and I come to Christ we receive eternal life in Him and the forgiveness of our sins but there are still areas of life that will be cleaned as a part of the process. This can be a messy & frustrating process at times. If you're anything like me you look at your life on occasion and say, "I can't believe I'm struggling with this", "I can't believe I did that", "I can't believe I said that" or "I can't believe I went there" and you get frustrated and perhaps even discussed with yourself wondering what is going on and how you can deal with this and still call yourself a "good Christian". I'd like to suggest that what you and I are experiencing is simply the cleaning process that God is taking us through to tear away the elements in our lives that He can't use so that a new us can emerge free from the scales (hard heads) and entrails (things that are inside that can taint us from being useful and pleasurable in God's sight).
In John 15:2 Jesus discussed how God prunes (or cleans) us so that we may be more fruitful so don't be discouraged when you endure times of challenge where old habits and practices are being pulled away. Perhaps God is pruning you and although it's frustrating and messy it's a part of the process that He has planned to prepare you for His purpose. Don't resist it,embrace it! It's a sign that He has a part for you to play in His plans. If we can trust that God knows what He's doing through the process, I believe we'll see that God knew the best way to get us to our destiny and it just may involve sitting us in a sink and pulling at all of the scales we used to hide behind.
