The right fit

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God has prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10

God brought this verse to my attention at the beginning of this year when I was reading a book by Alex & Brett Harris called “Start Here: Doing Hard Things Right Where You Are”.  The verse struck home to me, and I preached on it to the Youth at Living Faith Outreach.  Then ,a few weeks back, I preached on it at a local church here in Kenya.  It seems like God keeps bringing this verse back to my attention this year. 

Recently, I have been looking for a pair of rubber boots and God once again brought this verse back to my attention.  Now you are probably wondering what that verse in Ephesians has to do with a pair of rubber boots?  I’m glad you asked.

When Tracy, Hope and I moved to “The Farm” here in Kenya, I saw all the workers wearing the same type of rubber boots.  Here I believe the term is still “Wellies”; a term left over from when Great Britain ruled the country.  You see, I was raised in the Suburbs.  The closest I had ever come to a farm was visiting my relatives in Iowa when I was a kid.  However, I quickly came to realize how valuable these boots were on a working farm.  When it rains, the boots protect you from the mud.  They also protect against snakes, or any other critters that might be lurking in the tall grass.  And since this is a working farm, and we do have cows, the boots help you if accidently step in… well, you get the picture. 

So I decided I needed to get a pair of Wellies for myself.  The trouble is that my feet are big, much bigger than your average Kenyan foot.  So when we were at the store in Kisumu, I looked at the boots they had there and saw that the biggest size there was size 11.  I needed size 13.  I didn’t even bother to try the boots on, thinking that they wouldn’t fit.  So we came home and I continued to wear my tennis shoes to work around the farm, lamenting the fact that I probably would not be able to find boots my size. 

Last week I went into Matoso with Tracy, Hope and Mom, because it was market day.  Every Wednesday, vendors come from all around the district to set up in the center of Matoso.  These are like travelling vendors and every day, they set up shop in a different village.  As we were walking through the market, I noticed that one shoe vendor had a pair of Wellies among his offerings.  They looked like they might be my size, so I got excited.  However, when I turned them over I saw a size 10 stamped on the bottom.  Disappointed, I put them back down.  But then the vendor encouraged me to try them on.  I told him they were the wrong size, that my feet were too big.  But he kept prodding me.  So to placate him, I took off my tennis shoe and tried on the boot.  Guess what?  The boot fit perfectly!  I was thoroughly amazed and extremely happy.  I bought them, and have been wearing them every work day since.   They were the right fit for me.

But what does that have to do with Ephesians?  Well, the passage in Ephesians says that God has prepared good works for us to do.  The problem I have seen in the church is that sometimes we look at what God is offering us and we think, ‘That’s not a good fit for me’, without even trying it on.  God may be calling you to a work you’ve never done before.  Perhaps He is calling you to work in the nursery at church.  Perhaps He is calling you to work as a Youth Pastor or a teacher.  Perhaps He is calling you to be a missionary and take the Gospel to a foreign country. 

Like me and my boots, perhaps you are taking one look and thinking, ‘Aww that’s not a right fit for me’, without even trying it out.  Whatever God is calling you to do, listen to Him.  Try it out.  You might just find it’s the right fit for you after all.