When Life is Like an Egg… and When it Isn’t.
By: Brian Harris
Not all images work. I wasn’t at all sure that this one would. The speaker was likening life to an egg – not a hard boiled one, long dead and simply waiting to be eaten, but one of those with a fledgling chick inside.
As the young bird attempts to come out, it pecks away at the shell from the inside. Recognising how tough the task is, you might well be tempted to lend a hand and give the shell a little tap to break it open and hasten the birds release. Apparently that’s a big no no. If you do, you have almost certainly sealed the chicks fate. There is something about it breaking free from its shell that gives it the strength needed to survive. Short circuit the struggle, and you leave it vulnerable, even doomed.
The Preacher’s Take
I’ve been a preacher long enough to know that the illustration could be developed in numerous ways. I leant in to see what this preacher (who was relatively new to preaching) would make of it.
“Life,” he said, “is like an egg. You often feel trapped by it, and there are things that hold you back. It’s the shell that surrounds you. You worry about what others think of you, and their opinions matter too much. You can’t stretch out and truly be yourself. You’ve got to do the work on the inside. As you change internally, you get the strength to peck away at what initially seems like an insurmountable barrier. As you grown inwardly, you get stronger, until the day comes when you are strong enough to break free from the shell holding you back. That’s how you step into life.”
Short Cuts and Their Cost
“However,” he added, “some of us look for short cuts. We welcome a bit of extra help from outside, but in doing so, we give away too much. Instead of smashing our barriers, they smash us.”
The key application point then followed. “Do the inner work you need to enable you to smash through life’s barriers. Once you have done that, you are free to live the life you have been called to – unafraid of public opinion and the forces calling you to be less than you should.”
The Half-Truth Problem
It was a fair point, and I’m definitely in favour of people doing the hard inner work that brings deep change. Short cuts usually backfire, and years later we often lament not laying an adequate foundation for what we didn’t anticipate would lie ahead.
So do the hard inner work you need to, for it will indeed produce a rich harvest over time.
For all that, I found myself wanting to push back. Not that sermons really allow you to do that. The average preacher does not welcome congregants jumping up and saying, “I hardly think so,” and I am also acutely aware of the homely wisdom that it is “Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt!”
It isn’t that I thought what the preacher said was wrong, simply that it was only a half truth – and you probably know the follow up to that… “when a half truth is made out to be the whole truth it becomes an untruth.”
Two Missing Words
Does it all depend upon me? Can I really do all the hard inner work required to transform me? Don’t others contribute to my formation, and doesn’t the Bible speak about the fruit of the Spirit, rather than the fruit of my incredibly hard work (Gal 5:22-23). I think the illustration missed two important words – community and grace.
Community, because the Bible is filled with “one another” verses. Coming from the Greek word allelon (one another, each other, mutually), it pops up about 100 times in scripture: Love one another, forgive one another, teach one another, care for one another, bear with one another, do not lie to one another – to name a few.
Grace, because that’s the heart of the Christian message. Actually I don’t save myself, I do need forgiveness, I can’t make it on my own.
A Better Ending to the Point
Is this a petty “so there” squabble? Clever me. Point scored!
Not really.
By all means, be all you can be, strive to be the best version of yourself that you can, do what it takes to build inner resilience. And as you walk that worthy road, you will realise (again and again and again) how often we need one another, and how constantly we need the grace of God.
May God give you (and me) the blessing of rich community, and the deepest awareness of grace, as we walk the worthiest of routes…
Article supplied with thanks to Brian Harris.
About the Author: Brian is a speaker, teacher, leader, writer, author and respected theologian who is founding director of the AVENIR Leadership Institute, fostering leaders who will make a positive impact on the world.
Feature image: Canva
