IKEA Furniture & A Bible

I set all the pieces out in an organized fashion. I pulled at the infamous allen wrench that IKEA offers to put anything and everything together. Allen wrenches are the duct tape of IKEA: they can fix anything. So, there I sat with all my piles of pieces and then I opened my Bible for the directions.

Say what?!?!

Who would open their Bible to find directions for a piece of furniture from IKEA? I feel like this is life right now. With all its chaos and craziness, I feel like I am trying to put together a piece of furniture from IKEA using directions from my Bible.

I want to beat my head against the wall. I want to throw all the pieces in the air and walk away. I want to give up. I want to yell. I am immensely frustrated while deeply committed to figuring it all out. But, the directions don’t match the situation.

As Christians, we believe we should be able to open our Bibles and have all the answers. Unfortunately, God doesn’t always work that way. Yes, the Bible is a road map. Story after story teaches us how to do things in a way that can elicit peace and it definitely teaches us how not to do things. I believe God allows space for us to figure it out: to make mistakes and do the wrong thing in order to learn, guide us, and grow deeper in our faith. 

Oftentimes, our Bibles will not have the black and white answers for our predicaments. We don’t always need the answers. We just need the love. 

We are trying to put an IKEA desk together using directions from the Bible and it’s not working. We need to gather our piles and listen to our friends and neighbors setting down the allen wrench. It is NOT our job to fix everything. Let me say that again, it is not our job to fix it. It is our job, however, to love.

While Jesus did perform many miracles (see: raising Lazarus from the dead), he didn’t walk into every situation and fix it or put it back together. Instead, he led people to discovery. He helped open their eyes to see another side of things. He guided them to view life in a completely different way. 

I think that’s what we are missing these days. We are so quick to pick up that allen wrench and put things back together and that’s not what’s needed at the moment. 

If you’ve ever put a piece of IKEA furniture together, you know the directions are laid out quite simply. Well, they are typically clear as mud, but, for the most part, they consist of very few words and pictures. I guess IKEA knows we are all kindergartners when it comes to putting something together. What if our current situation, the current state of our country, while immensely complicated can move towards reconciliation and healing in a simple way? I deeply believe we can and it all starts with love and listening.

We don’t need to slam down a huge book of directions. We can set our allen wrenches down and stop trying to solve all the world’s problems. Instead, we can pick up our hearts and open our ears to love and listen to our neighbors. We share this world. We don’t stay in neatly organized piles of pieces forever. That doesn’t make great furniture. Instead, all the pieces have to come together in order to create something useful. 

Set down your allen wrench. Mix up your beautifully organized piles. Stop forcing the directions to match the project and just love. Listen and love. Give more grace than you can fathom because its necessary remembering you need just as much grace as the one you despise. 

This world is a mess. It’s difficult to understand just like the directions from IKEA. But, you have all you need right inside of you. Start with love. Start with listening and the directions will follow…naturally.

Love & Blessings,
Meg