Origami Churches

Today was a snow day!! That means no school and a lot of time on my hands. So, I decided to indulge in a little origami... it used to be one of my most favorite pastimes! Below, you'll see a completed Spiked Pentakis Dodecahedron.

This geometric solid is composed of 60 pieces of paper. All of them were folded individually, then fitted together to create the structure. And as I labored over the model for two hours, I got thinking; this model is a perfect metaphor for a few different areas of our faith! The least consequential being that a dodecagon (a 12 sided figure...  a dodecahedron has pyramids on every face) has 12 sides; this being coincidental to the fact that there were 12 tribes of Israel, 12 gates in the New Jerusalem, etc etc. Not really important, but interesting it worked out that way!

Like I said, the solid is made up of 60 units. Each unit is meticulously folded along predetermined lines. Every unit is also unique; the folds won't be EXACTLY the same as another unit! And finally, all sonobes (for that is what a unit is called) are one of six different colors. Think about it: God shapes each and everyone of us meticulously and carefully to make the perfect shape! But, without the other sonobes, we are just a folded piece of paper... no structure is created. We are all unique in that God doesn't always fold us the same exact way, and we all have roles to play - that is, a different color! Some will be encouragers, or prophets, or preachers   etc; similar to the way SOME are the same color, or function, but not ALL have the same color, or function!

In this way, the completed solid is like the church! Individual members, all crafted by God, coming together to form one beautiful work of art that glorifies Him! We all have a different function in the church, with different pasts, but the SAME end goal: bring glory to God!! And we need to WORK TOGETHER to do so... cooperation is key. You see, sometimes as I was folding the paper was stubborn, and so I never got a perfect unit. All are flawed in some way. They don't fit together nicely, and some holes and flaws are shown in the design. It's far from perfect. But the artist knows, GOD knows, that when it is 100% assembled it will look perfect! The Creator's goodness and perseverance and LOVE can overcome the individual flaws in someone.

Back to those flaws I was talking about... the sonobes weren't perfectly formed, so sometimes they didn't fit together nicely. Instead of interlocking, they slid around, and with any tape to force them together, the going got frustrating sometimes. Similarly, God doesn't use force to make us love Him or fit into His perfect plan. He allows our flaws. And sometimes, our flaws cause disorder among those around us! Instead of holding together with the bonds of love, we slide around, inflated by pride. One sonobe couldn't POSSIBLY see the beauty God is shaping us all to be, but God can! We need to trust Him and love the others in the church... as well as those outside the church! Flaws make us human; Jesus makes us beautiful. We just need to trust He has placed us in the right situation.

Easy for me to say; I have everything handed to me on a silver platter. I have never experienced hardship, been born and raised in a Christian family surrounded by Godly people and have always had my needs AND wants available to me. Few have this privelage, and God blessed me with where I am now. He may move me somewhere else with more hardship; I don't know. But this is true for everyone: where God wants you, thats where you need to be. Its His perfect plan, and He knows how it all fits together!

Needless to say, there are a LOT more 'units' in God's plan than the 60 I had to put up with. I'm so glad He has an infinite amount of love and patience to pour into us; if it were me, I would have given up long ago! He knows what He is doing, and we should trust Him!!! Even if we look around and see flaws, imperfection, all around, we can know that from an eternal perspective, it looks pretty darn good!