Using scrap lumber, six-year-old Mark attempted to construct a doll bed for his sister. Shed saved and purchased a doll, but had nothing left to buy a bed.
"I'll make one for you!" Mark eagerly offered. He made some progress with it until he tried to attach the legs. "I could make it stand up," Mark pleaded with his mother, "if you'd just let me use Dads electric screwdriver!"
Mark had two things going right in his project: He had a willing heart. He knew the right tool to use, because hed watched his talented father use that screwdriver numerous times. But Mark didn't comprehend his own inability to use an electric screwdriver.
As Christians, we too are builders. We build bridges of relationships and understanding, highways for worship and Christian education, avenues of service and caring.
Like Mark, the first thing needed in Christian building is a willing heart. The second is the right tool. But these God-sized projects are also too big to do by ourselves, so we ask for help.
In Christian building, we don't rely on our own strength alone. We place our churches, communities, and our very lives into God's hands. There, we can become God's tools. Our strength, talents, treasures, time, and creativity are then used by our heavenly Father, the most skillful craftsman of all.