Patina

It’s that time of year.
Time to get out the deck furniture that has been stored away for the winter.
I love to see the glass table, the comfy chairs, and the market umbrella set up.
They invite me to sit for a while…to have dinner outside.

The furniture out of hibernation.
What stories they could tell.
The friends that have come over, the conversations as we lingered after a meal.
Spring is here!

I am not a person who likes to be out in the sun.
I get sunburn too easily!
Give me my shady side porch any day…with the rockers and the swing.

I have two favorite pieces of furniture on my deck.
They were handcrafted by a Mennonite man in Lancaster.
One is an old fashioned garden table…used for potting plants.
The other is a deacon’s bench.

When I bought them, I decided I would paint them “country colors”.
Paint them, yet give them a weathered look.
I love the old patina.

By definition, patina is a sheen on wooden furniture produced by age, wear, and polishing; or any such acquired change of a surface through age and exposure.

I was actually going to repaint those pieces this year.
It has been two years since I bought them.
They have been out in the weather.
I decided to wait another year or two.

The back of the deacon’s bench is made from an old door.
You can actually see the key hole that still remains.
How I wish I knew the history of that door.
What a story it could tell.

Woe to you teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like white-washed tombs which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead man’s bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness. (Matthew 23:27, 28)

The teachers of the law and the Pharisees were very concerned about appearances.
Their outsides had to be shiny and polished and clean.
They didn’t work too hard on their insides.

Why should they?
People didn’t see what they looked like on the inside.
But God did!

God does.

Amazing what a good coat of paint can do.
It can spruce up anything…even old garden tables and benches.

Brand spanking new is nice!
Looks great!
Doesn’t have much character though.

The rest of the definition of patina says that, it may also be aesthetically appealing.

Paul was an apostle to the Gentiles.
He traveled on four missionary journeys that we can read about in the book of Acts.
He was persecuted for being a Christian…when ironically HE used to do the persecuting.
That all changed when he met Jesus on the road to Damascus.

Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles, in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches…If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness….for when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 11:24-28,30 and 12:10)

Unlike the Pharisees and teachers of the law, Paul did not look good on the outside.
He was not aesthetically appealing.
Paul cared more about how he looked on the inside.
THAT mattered to the Lord.

Paul had the weathered patina of a true servant.
Wounds received in service to our Lord.
Patina received from age, wear, polishing, and exposure.

Polishing that comes from refining.
Refining that comes from sanctification.
Sanctification that comes because we have been justified by the blood of Jesus.

Our Lord Jesus…another Servant who had a weathered patina.
Wounds He incurred for us.
Scars on His hands, His feet, and His side.
Jesus was not at all polished, whitewashed, presentable.

Oh…but He is beautiful!

The weathered patina of a true servant.
Beats a fresh coat of paint any day!