Barn (shed) Raising the Conclusion

Uhhhhh! If I had a nickel for every nail I had to take out I would be rich. Don’t misunderstand me, I’m not complaining (yeah, right, I am too complaining), but as hard as I tried I just couldn’t get it right. In fact, I watched YouTube videos to make sure I was doing it the right way. “It’s easy, even you can do it, and in the next 10 minutes you will be able to install your shed’s roof like a pro.” Don’t believe them, they are Satan in disguise.

Rake first or drip plate? Is it a drip-plate or drip cap? Does the tar paper (or is it felt) go on top of the drip plate or under it? The answers were as different as the number of videos I watched. My friend showed up as I proudly laid some tar/felt paper. Did I see him sigh? We did some “adjustments” and then he started a row of shingles and left me to follow his example. What does he think he is doing, leaving me alone? My heart sank as he drove out of the driveway. I felt like a little kid whose dad left him and didn’t say when he would be back. I got up on the roof followed his pattern. I’m not saying it looks good or not, because it’s not quite finished. Tomorrow is another day.

I wonder if Jesus ever got frustrated with his disciples? “(ESV) 8 But Jesus, aware of this, said, “O you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? 9 Do you not yet perceive?” Matthew 16:8,9. “(ESV) 26 And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.” Matthew 8:26. “(ESV) 19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” 20 He said to them, “Because of your little faith.” Matthew 17:19,20.

They didn’t get it either, and though Jesus chastised them for their little faith, he never sent them away or rejected them. I am sure he might have rolled his eyes. But this is discipleship. Teaching others how to do what you can do, correcting where they go wrong, then letting them do it again and again. Discipleship is God’s call on every believer, and it is never easy. Life is messy and it takes time to train up people to be more like Christ. They try and then try again. Sometimes you have to take out a lot of nails, but the next time you will do it a little bit better.

I’ve learned a lot about building a shed, and about discipleship. I’m just saying...