Quilted together with God’s love

In her devotional “The Quilt of Life,” Mary Tatem says quilts “wrap our hearts in warm emotions. They represent time, energy and planning. The hours required to create a quilt offer plenty of opportunity to think about the person for whom it is intended. When combining needlework with prayer, a quilter catches a glimpse of the love of God who stitches the fabric of our lives with His plans and purposes for our good and not our destruction.”

Surely she was thinking of Jeremiah 29:11 -- “‘For I know the thoughts that I think toward you,’ saith the Lord, ‘thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you an expected end.’”

Tatem continues, “Our Creator, the Master quilter, designs our lives using His perfect pattern. Skillfully placing the lights and darks of our lives, He joins the mountains and valleys of our days to make us into comforters who warm others.”

Beginning quilters often have trouble choosing colors and prints for a quilt. Early on they learn that the most stunning quilts have great contrast between the light and dark colors. Later they learn that there is beauty in muted tones as well. And finally they learn that all colors and prints go together if there is a common “thread” in the quilt, such as a recurring color or identical borders.

Is that true in our Christian lives, too? People with the most stunning conversions are those who have made it from the darkest of human nature into the miraculous light of Jesus Christ. However, Christians with more muted stories to tell are amazing, wonderful examples of Christ faithfully at work throughout their lives. But the most miraculous thing we can learn is that no matter what our past has been, no matter what size, shape, color, financial state, age, IQ, etc., when there is the common thread of Christian principles or when we are all bordered and filled with Christ, together we are a wonderful, crazy quilt.

Is every quilt perfect? A common saying among quilters is, “If you can’t see the flaw from a galloping horse, it is OK.” Is every Christian perfect? It’s a thrill that God does not expect us to be perfect, and He eliminates our flaws as we confess them and strive not to repeat them.

As God’s people quilted together in His love, we can warm the world. We can cover the world. We can spread the Word to our friends and neighbors and the world.