There was a wrinkle in the rug. More than one, actually. I’m not sure how long they’d been there, maybe 20 years or so. It wasn’t simply annoying. It was a fall risk for my mother-in-law that we needed to mitigate. My husband bought a strong tape to make it adhere to the carpet below. But there was a problem. Those wrinkles needed to be flattened so the tape could be affixed properly. Wrinkles in clothes are resolved by steam, so my idea was to steam them out. Perhaps that was an unorthodox fix, but it worked! Tom held the rug while I steamed it, and then I held the rug while he affixed the tape.
A Wrinkle in the Rug
How often do we let a problem stay a problem? When is it time to smooth out the wrinkles in our daily lives? What methods are we willing to undertake to remove them? Jesus made an extreme sacrifice to get rid of the wrinkles in the church:
He gave up his life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault. Ephesians 5:25-27 NLT
Deeply-set long-time wrinkles yield only to heat and pressure. The same is true of our souls. God’s Spirit presses firmly, and often the steam is a little hotter than we’d like on our rough edges. But we must undergo this process until we adhere to Christ’s principles. Christ longs to make us radiant and whole through His refining love.
Without Spot or Wrinkle
Perhaps the wrinkle in the rug you face today isn’t a nuisance or a fall risk, but an invitation. Let Him touch the fabric of your life. When He’s finished, you’ll stand not just restored, but radiant.
So today, may His loving grace flatten what pride, fear, or complacency have distorted. May we yield to His touch, so we may reflect His glory. May we be a glorious church continually made new—holy, unwrinkled, and ready for His return.
*For those of you who prayer walk, ask God to reveal the wrinkles in your life and surrender them to Him. And for this week’s screensaver click here.