WORKING IN THE LIGHT OF THE COMING GLORY (6 OF 8)
Scripture: Haggai 2:6-9
This content is part of a series.
Working in the Light of the Coming Glory (6 of 8)
Series: Getting Back to What Matters Most
Wyman Richardson
Haggai 2:6-9
Read Haggai 2:6-9
Perhaps you have heard the story of the man who was standing outside of a store watching another man whittle little wooden dogs. This whittler was amazing at his craft. He would take a piece of wood and, methodically and without hesitation, whittle until he had a perfectly shaped little wooden dog that he would then give to bystanders. The man watching all of this was amazed. When the whittler stopped to take a break the man asked, ''Tell me: how in the world do you do that?'' The whittler paused for a moment, looked at the next piece of wood in his hands, and said, ''Well, I take a piece of wood and then I get rid of every part of it that don't look like a dog.''
I have heard versions of that story all of my life. The humor in it (and, if I might say, the profundity in it) rests in the fact that some people really do have the ability to see the hidden reality in a given situation instead of the situation itself. Most of us look at a piece of wood and say, ''wood!'' Artists look at the same piece and say, ''dog!''
In Haggai 2:6-9, God teaches Israel this very lesson. They had now been working on rebuilding the temple for about a month. It was not going well. So they looked at it and said, ''Unimpressive. Underwhelming. Incomplete.'' But God looked at it and said something else.
Service done in the name of Christ is always bigger than the results we can see.
In the verses immediately preceding our text, the Lord encouraged downtrodden Israel. They stood there, looking at their rather feeble accomplishments, and began to feel frustrated. Thus, the Lord encouraged them with these words:
4 Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, declares the Lord. Be strong, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the Lord. Work, for I am with you, declares the Lord of hosts, ...
Series: Getting Back to What Matters Most
Wyman Richardson
Haggai 2:6-9
Read Haggai 2:6-9
Perhaps you have heard the story of the man who was standing outside of a store watching another man whittle little wooden dogs. This whittler was amazing at his craft. He would take a piece of wood and, methodically and without hesitation, whittle until he had a perfectly shaped little wooden dog that he would then give to bystanders. The man watching all of this was amazed. When the whittler stopped to take a break the man asked, ''Tell me: how in the world do you do that?'' The whittler paused for a moment, looked at the next piece of wood in his hands, and said, ''Well, I take a piece of wood and then I get rid of every part of it that don't look like a dog.''
I have heard versions of that story all of my life. The humor in it (and, if I might say, the profundity in it) rests in the fact that some people really do have the ability to see the hidden reality in a given situation instead of the situation itself. Most of us look at a piece of wood and say, ''wood!'' Artists look at the same piece and say, ''dog!''
In Haggai 2:6-9, God teaches Israel this very lesson. They had now been working on rebuilding the temple for about a month. It was not going well. So they looked at it and said, ''Unimpressive. Underwhelming. Incomplete.'' But God looked at it and said something else.
Service done in the name of Christ is always bigger than the results we can see.
In the verses immediately preceding our text, the Lord encouraged downtrodden Israel. They stood there, looking at their rather feeble accomplishments, and began to feel frustrated. Thus, the Lord encouraged them with these words:
4 Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, declares the Lord. Be strong, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the Lord. Work, for I am with you, declares the Lord of hosts, ...
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