Rough around the Edges?

Have you ever heard of the expression "Rough Around the Edges?"  It is an expression meant to convey that someone is not refined and needs some culture, manners, or sophistication.  Someone who comes indoors without taking off his hat or doesn't open a door for a lady might be considered 'rough around the edges.' That is not a flattering thing to say about someone and most people want to be cultured and refined or have their rough edges smoothed out.

Sometimes if you're real quiet and not distracted, God will show you things - just wisdom from every day, ordinary things.  Many times (and I'm very guilty of this) I miss His 'still, small' voice, because of the frenetic pace of life.  While on vacation God showed me something that is profound in its simplicity, something that I've never thought about and would have missed entirely on an ordinary day.

Take a look at the rock in my hand below.  Can you see the rough edges?  This rock evidently chipped off of a larger rock at one point.  The edges of the rock are sharp and jagged.  In fact, you could turn it on its side and use it as a knife to cut something with if you were in a pinch.

Sharp edges

In the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina/Tennessee, there are numerous creeks like the one I took a picture of below.  You can see all three of my kids relishing the beauty of the crystal clear spring water running over the rocks of a creek bed framed by beautiful foliage.  In Louisiana, we don't have things like this.  My wife likes to say that all the water in Louisiana is muddy AND infested with alligators.  You couldn't find a rock in the bayous around our house - just mud. 

But look at the beautiful river stones that are in creek beds in North Carolina!  They are smooth, round, and beautiful!  As I held them in my hand and looked at them, I began thinking.

Smooth, rounded river stones

These stones did not get in this condition overnight.  Actually, it took years and years.  They were originally rocks that broke off of larger boulders and had rough, jagged edges.  The process of water flowing over them and other rocks bumping into them smoothed out their rough edges and polished them so that they transformed into the beautiful, smooth stones you see in my hand.  If these stones had feelings and could talk to you, they would probably tell you that their transformation from a jagged rock into a smooth stone was an uncomfortable process as they were under turbulent, rushing water and they were having neighboring rocks beat and batter them.  If the rocks were removed from the creek bed, they wouldn't have turned into the beautiful river stones that I was holding in my hand.

God brought to my mind that we are like these stones.  If we yield to Him and allow ourselves to be shaped and molded, He will eventually transform us into a thing of beauty.  Oh, the smoothing process on us, like the rocks described in the preceding paragraph, is a slow and painful one.  Sometimes God allows things in our lives like the rushing water of adversity or the bumps and bruises of other 'rocks' we come in contact with that hurt us, bruise us, and scar us.  Now, we could always remove ourselves from the turbulent stream of the messiness of life, but our transformation to a smooth stone would be incomplete.  God is working on all of His children, shaping and molding us, if we allow Him.

Beautiful (but dead) Stones

We are, after all, living stones.

1 Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, 2 like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, 3 if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.

4 And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, 5 you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.  1 Peter 2:1-5

Did you catch that?  We're living stones!  And we're being built up!  By HIM!  Who is He?  He is LORD. He is the chief CORNERSTONE and he's shaping us to reflect His image.  When you add some water to the river stone (like below), it SHINES.  Allow God to smooth out your rough edges and Go Shine for Jesus!

A beautiful stone!