A New Day

By: Pastor Johnie Akers     

Psalm 139:14, “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.”  I have a kitchen drawer full of gadgets and gizmos.  Many of them have been in the drawer for years.  I am sure a well-intentioned person probably bought them as gifts for our family thinking we could use them, and presuming we would already know what they could be used for.  I was pilfering through the drawer recently looking for a utensil I needed when I complained to my wife over the clutter.  She walked over to the drawer, looked inside and asked, “So, what is it in there that you don’t know what it’s used for—Mr. Master’s Degree?”  I held up an object and replied, “This thing.  It’s been in there as long as I remember, and I’ve never used it.”  She said, “Oh that.  I use it all the time.  It’s a sink strainer.  You know all that stuff you wash down the drain?  If you would use this, it would collect all of that stuff that stops the drain up and you could simply throw it in the trash.”  Well, I’ve used it ever since.  The greater truth is, that when we do not understand the purpose for which something was designed, we unfairly characterize it as useless—or even worse, as junk.  Judgmentalism is borne of ignorance.  Anything with order and design has been created by a transcendent entity for a specific purpose. We must understand that God does not create junk.  We unfairly judge others when we do not fully understand the purpose for which God has created them.  Each of us has been “fearfully and wonderfully made.”  Like snowflakes, there are not two of us that are alike.  God made us.  He makes us all unique.  Our approach to others should always be from the vantage point that none of us are just “clutter in the kitchen drawer.”  Once we assume that perspective, we will honor one another for the intrinsic value our heavenly Father has created within each of us, and the contribution we can make for all humanity, for each new day.