Doctrine in a pair of Jeans

My wife got me some jeans two christmas's ago. She bought them at American Eagle and they were designed to be a little rough. They had rips and holes in them and actually came with some sand paper so you can make them look rougher (My mother is cringing as she reads this). When I first got them, my girth would not allow me to fit in to these jeans, try as I might. After effort and a little weight loss, the jeans now fit. Recently the seam on the jeans came apart and so I took them in to the seamstress to have them fixed. I picked them up a week later and discovered that the seamstress had sewn a patch over the hole in the knees. It gave me a good chuckle.

I got thinking about those jeans as I wore them to chapel. Wierd I know but I did. Today was a discouraging day at work and a little bit of a down day at chapel. (If you've been getting 6 or 7 emails from me lately about chapel, i do apolgize, my email server is stuck in a loop and it's caused me massive amounts of headaches)

Anyway, Some of my key guys at chapel didn't come tonight and our numbers were down. One of our questions on the trivia tonight was "Can you get to heaven by being good - True or false" and most of the guys answered true. I felt like we had taken 5 steps back and questioned what we were accomplishing but then I thought of the pants and how they are similar to my situation.

1. Fitting - Their spiritual life may not fit in to the rest of their life now but one day, it will. Keep working away at it and one day, it will fit.

2. Fixing what I think is wrong - Like the seamstress who felt my beloved jeans needed a patch, she tried to fix what she felt was wrong. Too often, I find myself taking matters into my own hands and worrying about details and making things look good instead of letting God take control and do what his will is, not mine.

God please make yourself known and real in the hearts and minds of these players...

Mom, my jeans look a little rough still but the hole in the knee is now patched! I know you'll be happy!!!