Fitting Into Christian Work
Being a Square Peg for a Round Hole
On April 13th, 1970, Jim Lovell uttered a phrase that would begin one of the most well-known stories in space travel: "Houston, we've had a problem." (that’s the real quote)
Two and a half days into their journey, one of the oxygen tanks aboard Apollo 13 ruptured, causing the other to fail. The three men were now in a race against time as, with every breath, they poisoned the air around them.
After desperate attempts to diagnose what had happened, and continuing to watch the life support systems fail. They only had one option: to move from the Command Module (the cabin they fly to and from the moon in) to the Lunar Module (the part that actually lands on the moon).
The life support system of the Lunar Module was only designed to house two of the men for the 45-hour round trip to the moon's surface and back - not for three men to take the 90-hour, 200,000-mile journey back to Earth.
Mission control at NASA began the gruelling process of calculating how to get the men back safely.
All non-essential power systems were shut down, and temperatures were regularly below freezing, making sleep almost impossible. The men began intense rationing of water, just 6oz per day (around half a normal can). By the time they returned, they had lost a total of 31.5 pounds.
A primary concern was the quickly amassing concentration of CO2 with the extra person on board. After a day and a half, the LM showed dangerous levels. Spare CO2 scrubbers were taken from the CM, but they were different shapes and were incompatible with the LM.
And so famously, they had to find a way to fit a square peg in a round hole.
This is often what it's like to be a Christian serving the kingdom: a square peg desperately trying to shape ourselves to fit in a round hole.
It's all too easy to not do something because we feel we are not the right person. In a human sense, this feeling can be true. We really aren’t the best person for most Christian work. There will always be better evangelists, more hospitable hosts and more impressive cooks.
But, like the men in Apollo 13, we aren’t alone. Those 3 astronauts weren't stuck to create a plan as their brains clouded over due to a lack of oxygen.
They had a collection of the brightest minds in the Western world, all focused on getting them home safely. The very people who built the rocket they sat in, they couldn't have gotten much better support.
But we have better. We have the King of kings, the very creator of the heavens and the Earth they set out to explore. The one who has promised to shape and equip us to tackle anything we need.
And while we probably won't be equipped for service with a plastic bag, some cardboard, a roll of duct tape, and a sock like Apollo 13, we aren't stuck trying to figure it out alone.
If the Lord equipped a few uneducated fishermen to lead the most important institution in history, will he not also equip us for the small things in life that we fear doing?
You could stay square, in your square hole, in the part of the kingdom you're not being used. That's an easy life, a simple life, and a pretty ideal life from the outside, but you're not being used for the purpose you were created.
How would the world be different if the apostles decided they weren't up to the task, that they'd rather go back to fishing, something that gave reliable income in an industry they knew?
How could the world be different if you decide, with God's help, to step out of your comfort zone, even in small things?
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:10)
These good deeds are often taxing. We will be beaten, bruised, taped, and put in places we don't naturally belong, but we will be doing it to serve and further the kingdom. This is a high calling.
So Look for where you could help. Don't worry; not everyone has to fill every role, and certainly not where scripture forbids it. (Ladies, don't go feeling like you need to go into the ministry.) But serve with confidence, knowing the Lord will shape and support you. Not necessarily to make you the best but to make you adequate.
