Some Assembly Required

by Brad LindnerOct 5, 2020Devotional, Foundations

If you’ve ever purchased something from IKEA, chances are good you’re familiar with the term “some assembly required.” More like ALL assembly required. Yet people all over the world have embraced a little DIY if it means having a bit of trendy furniture at a fraction of the cost.

When you walk into an IKEA store, you see what all the furniture should look like, what it was designed to look like. You bring it home in boxes and it looks nothing like what you saw in the store. Not yet, at least. One of the great things about IKEA is they don’t just give you the parts you need to make your chair or bookshelf, they prepare you to build your beautiful piece of Swedish minimalism by giving you the instructions and the tools you’ll need. The only thing they don’t give you (sadly) is someone to help you build your furniture with you.

When we look at Jesus in the Bible, we see how we were designed to live: fully human, alive in God. The moment we believe in Jesus, our new, eternal life in God begins. But living abundant lives here on earth requires some assembly. While Jesus gives us the model of what it looks like to be fully human, the Holy Spirit provides everything we need to build that abundant life.

The Apostle Paul writes, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22) This fruit develops as we “keep in step with the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:25; also see John 15:1-17) That means the life Jesus models for us is being built in us by the Holy Spirit. God has given us the model, the instructions, the tools, and the Builder.

Our lives have been designed to look like Jesus’ life. As we open our lives to the Holy Spirit, as we keep in step with Him, He slowly builds and shapes us into that design. Let us pray, then, that God would continue to open our lives and our hearts to the work He began from the moment we first believed in Jesus Christ.

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