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Barabas
and Uncle Floyd walked over to the Konde’s. Sam and Barabas are
playing Lode Runner in the house. Mr. Konde invited Uncle Floyd
out to his workshop where he does wood carving.
Maybe
you remember that Mr. Konde carved this wood to be a figure of
Christ. Mr. Konde LOVES wood. He loves the smell of it and the
feel of it and the look of it. When he sees a beautiful piece
of wood, he wants to touch it.
He can
see the figure already in the wood, even before he picks of his
first tool to start carving. Like this rooster! Last year
after he and Sam went to the Farm Show, Mr. Konde looked at a
piece of wood and he KNEW it would become a rooster. And then
he got his tools out and started carving. And this is what he
made. It is like there is a part of Mr. Konde himself in every
thing he makes.
Uncle
Floyd looked around the workshop with great admiration. He
noticed the carvings and that all of the tools in this workshop
are in good order, cleaned and sharpened regularly. They are
lined up on a peg board here and he keeps some of them in the
drawers over here.
Uncle
Floyd said “Mr. Konde, I reckon you are a true artist!”
You can
see that these wooden carvings should be treated with respect.
They should not be left out in the rain, or under a car on the
garage floor, or used to prop open a window on a hot summer
night. These sculptures should be kept clean, dusted, rubbed
with oil and kept safe.
Imagine,
if this rooster could talk to Mr. Konde. I think it might say
something like “You know everything about me, Mr. Konde. Thank
you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is
marvelous.”
You
know, looking at Mr. Konde’s workshop reminds me of the 139th
Psalm that we just read. Except, instead of the rooster saying
those things to Mr. Konde, in the Psalm WE are saying those
things to God. We say in the Psalm:
“O Lord,
you know everything about me. You know my every thought when
far away. You saw me before I was born. When I wake up in the
morning, you are still with me!”
God made
our wonderful bodies and He knows each and every one of us, sort
of like how Mr. Konde carved all his sculptures and knows each
and every one of them.
And God
wants us to take good care of our bodies because, as Paul wrote
to the Corinthians “Your body is a temple for the Holy Spirit.”
It is like there is a part of God himself in everything he
makes. That means we should treat our bodies with respect.
How do
we treat our bodies with respect? We should wear a seat belt
EVERY time we ride in the car. We should not smoke cigarettes
when we get older. We should eat our fruits and vegetables. If
our bodies are a temple for the Holy Spirit, then we should keep
our bodies tidy and as healthy as we can.
Uncle
Floyd looked carefully at each of the sculptures that Mr. Konde
had there in his workshop. And he marveled at the wonderful God
given talent of Mr. Konde. And his respect for Mr. Konde
increased and their friendship grew.
THE END
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