Dear Faith Family,
Some of us are crafts-persons in the traditional sense. You are able to construct the material world (whether from wood or metal, fabric or color or code) into the manifestation of your imagination. And while the rest of us less apt at shaping the material into something recognizable (much less beautiful or sturdy as my "home projects" continue to attest) may decry our lack of "craftiness," the truth is our daily living is no less an attempt to shape our little worlds into the images of the life we desire. And that's the way it is meant to be!
We are, remember, formed and fashioned to participate with God in the cultivating of creation, working with Him to construct and shape the world in goodness (Gen. 2). When we fail to take our God-given responsibility for trying to make something of our life, that is when we find ourselves on the wrong side of the Master's joy (Matt. 25:14-30). The warning of the second word, then, is not so much against our aptitude to craft our little worlds as it tells us that the images informing our crafting- whether in our homes or offices, with our hands or with hearts- actually shape us.
At this point, you may be wondering why more words on "the second word"? Well, if you notice, the second word gets a lot of extra words (Ex. 20:4-6), with only the fourth word on Sabbath and work getting more. It seems like there is something important about this word that requires some nuance or at least a little extra attention.
We are made to craft, to cultivate a good life out of the created material of our existence. Yet, we are limited in imagining the good, what it is, and how we get it. So, as we said last week, we are prone to craft from false ideals, false idols, perpetuating our misrepresentations of what is true about ourselves, others, our world, and ultimately, God. While the solution seems straightforward enough, "don't craft false images," representations of life that you submit to, the truth is, we are not very good at recognizing the stories that shape our crafting. Or, as one author says is,
"We are not very good at recognizing illusions, least of all the ones we cherish about ourselves...For most of the people in the world, there is no greater subjective reality than this false self of theirs...A life devoted to...this shadow is what is called a life of sin [i.e., missing the mark of our true selves]."
(Thomas Merton)
Yes, we "shall not make for ourselves a carved image," but how we do that is not a cold stop on crafting, but a relational examine of the images (stories) that shape our shaping. While we are not good at recognizing our illusions, our Father is.
Once again, take a few minutes today or this week and let God examine your ways of crafting. Add to "Step 2" in the linked guide the revelations of last week's examine, specifically what the Spirit revealed about the stories of life you submit to, and let the Spirit lead you into the good crafting.
May the Love in which we are bound allow us to see clearly what binds us from living whole, holy, and free in the One "who brought us...out of the house of slavery."
Love you, faith family! God bless.