See The Picture

            All afternoon a little boy tried to put together his birthday gift from his father: a picture puzzle.  Some of the pieces were bright, some dark, some seemed to go together, others seemed to fit nowhere.  Finally, frustrated and exhausted and with nothing to show for his efforts, the boy gathered the pieces, put them in the box, and gave it to his dad.  “I can’t do it,” he murmured.  “You try it.” To his amazement, his father assembled the entire puzzle in a few minutes.  “You see,” he said, “I knew what the puzzle was like all the time.  I saw the picture in the puzzle, but you saw only the pieces.” 
            Paul says, “And we know that all that happens to us is working for our good if we love God and are fitting into His plan” (Romans 8:28; Living Bible).  “All that happens to us” are the pieces of the puzzle and, “if we love God,” all of the pieces will fit together to serve the plan He has for us.  That is the picture. 
            Are you perplexed or frustrated over events that happen in your life?  Do not take the situation out of God’s hand, but let Him work it into your life’s design.  God made the picture your life is composed of and He will complete it if you will let Him.  If you love Him, just remember: He loves you more than you will ever love Him.  So, do not worry about a thing, trust Him and He will put the pieces together in His perfect time. 
            Paul goes on to say, “What can we ever say to such wonderful things as these?  If God is on our side, who can ever be against us?  Since He did not spare even His own Son for us, but gave Him up for us all, won’t He also surely give us everything else?” (Romans 8:31-32; Living Bible).  What an amazing truth!  God gave His Son to save us from the demolisher, to heal us from all disease, to break the chains that bind, and to give us hope and perfect peace.  If God gave us His Son to do all of this, what’s our problem? 
            An English town had a church whose stone walls were covered with ivy.  Over an arch was originally inscribed the words: “We Preach Christ Crucified.” There had been a generation of godly men who did precisely that. They preached Christ crucified.  But times changed.  The ivy grew and pretty soon covered the last word.  Now it read: “We Preach Christ.” Pastors came and preached Christ the example, Christ the humanitarian, Christ the ideal teacher.  As the years passed, the ivy continued to grow until finally the inscription read: “We Preach.”  And the generation that came along did just that.  They preached economics, social gospel, book reviews, politics, arts, education, and just about everything.  The truth of the Gospel was not heard anymore leaving people ignorant of God’s full picture for their lives. 
            Therefore, the problem today with many people, including church goers, is they do not hear the full uncompromising Word of God. One of the minister’s duties is to preach the Gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation to all who believe.  For more about Joy visit us online at www.JoyChristianMinistries.com.