Playdough – I think that’s what it’s called – is the substance used back in the day at school to make various shapes. It was all done by hand, tweaking and nudges, then setting so it would look recognisable or, in my case, totally unrecognisable. It was good fun playing with it, and so it lived up to the play part of its name.
Human existence involves something that is similar to the playdough quality without as much fun or play. It’s fascinating watching videos of the development of the foetus in the woman’s womb. The physical development of the baby over the months to the point of its emergence into the world. Then we continue to observe as that creature further grows and develops movement and oratorical capabilities. From the stage of needing to be fed, it develops the capacity to feed for itself, and before you know it, what was once being fed by you is now feeding you. Remarkable.
Throughout those stages of development, that creature is not just being formed in the physical. From its inception it’s being formed in intangible ways as well. Thoughts, feelings, beliefs, attitudes and desires are being formed.
God’s Word tells us that the creature from the womb is being formed in those areas in ways that reject Him. David, in God’s Word, mentions that he was born in sin and shaped in iniquity. That’s a reflection on his life, yet no one else who’s ever lived can suggest that their circumstances were different. Paul would also mention, in outlining the need for a Saviour, that the natural disposition of humans was to rebel against their Creator.
It’s not just a disposition; it is rife through every aspect of the world’s operations. Noble, pious and well-meaning though some institutions and activities want to portray themselves, they don’t naturally operate in a way that honours God or acknowledges Him as the standard for righteousness, justice, peace and the source of good.
These points won’t bother anyone who is not consciously aware of God or interested in Him. These issues are of no importance to most people walking on the earth today. This is sad because it means that those who continue on this path will never really connect to what it means to live.
This should then be important to those who hear the gospel of Jesus Christ, and their hearts are stirred and convicted. Stirred and convicted because they have acknowledged that there is one God who creates, sustains and judges. This God, in His goodness, offers an opportunity to turn back to Him and be forgiven for the acts of rebellion and even accept their need for a change from the heart that is predisposed against Him.
This realisation and desire to turn to God shine a light on a fundamental truth – before the Light was on, life was shaped by, influenced by and to large degrees directed by anti-God forces. When people refer to what’s natural and elements of how we make mistakes and err from the set path, these are concessions to forces that urge people to live by anything other than the source of what’s right.
When the Light is on, and we’re aware of this alarming truth, the call to repentance is a call to turn our back on the way the world shapes, influences and directs us. It is not a call to leave the world – that is impossible and counterproductive to God’s mission. It is to live in the world, consciously aware that we don’t belong to the world. We don’t belong to how it seeks to rule our lives and tell us what to do.
We see how that works in the life of Jesus as recorded in the scriptures. He was in the world; He knew how the world operated and was aware of the one who sought to rule this world once humans had rejected the rule of God. He was aware of these things and sourced Himself to a power that didn’t belong to the world.
His disciples would take this hint and operate in a way that also declared that their allegiance, affinity and heart’s deepest affections were not aligned with the prevailing rule of the world. They held material possessions as stewards of God, who granted it to them and were not afraid to use it for His glory or lose it to avoid distractions to the calling of God. They regarded the things the world prioritised as minor compared to the all-surpassing pursuit of the glory of God. These behaviours expressed their desire not to be conformed to this world.
Every generation of believers may get the idea that things are uniquely tough for them to operate as God calls them to. Yet every generation has taken consolation and strength from learning the truths that allowed all generations of disciples to flourish and prosper even in persecution. Every generation has learnt that the encouragement not to be conformed is not on its own. It’s not left to avoid something. It’s coupled with the direction to find something of eternal worth – of exceeding greater value in life than the world offers. Focusing on what is offered in Christ is vital to going through the process that says we will no longer be the playdough of the world.
For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
C. L. J. Dryden
Life With CD 
Who knew that Playdough held such a secret? But your mind found that truth and brought it out into the open so that we can all see it now. Illustrations are powerful – thanks for sharing this one with us, Chris.