Character Like Wood

Friction is constructive. Like sandpaper on wood or a grinder on metal, the end product is better off for the initial discomfort. But friction means heat, splinters, and occasionally sparks. Like rough rocks rolled in a tumbler, we rub against each other over time to make us more polished and beautiful versions of ourselves. We can’t jump out of the tumbler early or hastily say “I’m sorry” like recalcitrant children and pretend that reconciliation has taken place. If we want a diamond, we have to survive pressure and time. Sanctification takes a lifetime.

The wood that we say has character is the timber that has been weathered by scorching sun, howling wind, and pelting rain. It’s the wood with gouges, scratches, burns, cracks, and knots. One that has a story to tell. Sure, veneer keeps up appearances and you can tease some eyes into believing there are signs of age...but in the end it is merely a plastic facade. When the veneer eventually peels away, all that is left is the immature wood underneath. You see the fake.

May we not resist a few strokes of sandpaper here and a chisel there as we mature. May we not wait until power tools are required for more drastic measures. May we accept that we are all works-in-progress as we tumble and bumble along this journey together. May we seek nothing less that sanctification.