Putting Off The Old Coat, Putting On The New

(You learned) to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. (Ephesians 4:22-24, ESV)

I had a conversation today with a co-worker about the power of the Gospel. He was telling me about a church where the preaching each Sunday was little more than a self-help pep talk. He recognized powerlessness of that message, and I recognized his desire to grasp the life-changing power of the Gospel in his own life. That is an especially potent reminder in the context of missionary work. It is easy to fix dirty children and broken houses, but much harder to address dirty hearts and broken homes. Jesus did not come to bring only humanitarian aid. He came to give abundant life, to the glory of God the Father! The invitation is to lay down your life, and find a new life that is deep and rich and eternal.

MMS Aviation works on airplanes. In fact, we give new life to broken airplanes. There are so many shortcuts we could take. It would save a lot of work and money, but the end result would not be satisfactory. Here is a story of two airplanes that have recently put off their old coats (of paint) in our hangar, and put on new.

The first airplane was an ugly butterscotch color when it arrived. We repaired, reworked, and repainted for several months. It just left us last month. Our custom is to gather around the airplane before it takes off to bless the Lord for providing it and ask His blessing on its work.

The next airplane is a similar story, told from the beginning. This airplane has served many years in Guyana, South America. It is tired.

The week before last, one of the supervisors and myself worked to disassemble the airplane so the paint could be removed.

In order to properly paint an airplane, we have to take off the control surfaces (there are about 4 pairs on this airplane), the wings, the tail, the landing gear, the interior, and lots of other small parts. This airplane is also having its engine overhauled.

Then the paint removal begins. This is a messy, tedious job. We brush on a chemical paint stripper, let it sit until the paint bubbles (usually overnight), then scrape and scrub. Sore elbows and hands are sure to follow, along with burning nasal passages from the odors.

This project has gone really well. In about a week and a half, we have gotten about 85% of the paint off. Sometimes it can take a couple months, so we are all thankful that we are nearing the end.

When we were in full swing, we had almost a dozen people working on it. That is part of the reason it is going so quickly.

This evening before the children went to bed, we sang

I’ve got peace like a river,
I’ve got joy like a fountain,
I’ve got love like an ocean
In my soul.

That peace, joy, and love do not come by spray-painting over our spiritual problems. They come when we let Jesus take the hard stuff to us and remove all the old, so he can fill us with a new life.

Thank you for checking in on us. Your prayers, encouragement, and support are precious to us. Here’s an offer: I’ll keep you posted on the work we’re doing, if you keep us filled in on what is happening in your life. Let’s stay in touch!