"If ever we are going to be made into wine, we will have to be crushed; you cannot drink grapes. Grapes become wine only when they have been squeezed. "
Oswald Chambers makes mention often of being poured out wine and broken bread as a Christian, following the call of God on our lives. It seems to usually be in the context of serving other believers, but I'm sure God can crush you to make you useful in anyone's life.
This statement caught my attention this morning as I was going thru today's reading. I know the answer to my question, but why does God try so hard to squeeze out of us every little thing that we've ever had in us? Why can't we just have built-in character? Why can't it come easy? I know - nothing worth having ever comes easy, blah blah blah. Doesn't mean I have to like it.
"I wonder what kind of finger and thumb God has been using to squeeze you, and you have been like a marble and escaped? You are not ripe yet, and if God had squeezed you, the wine would have been remarkably bitter. " Is it wrong for me to want to tell Mr. Chambers to shove it, even if I know what he says is true?
How do I know that God lives in me? Because I can read this devotional and no matter how I dislike what is being said, I long for it so much in my own life; to identify with Christ, even if it means getting crushed and broken.