Working like a Well-Oiled Machine

Edie here. I want to congratulate Martin on his newest book, Don't Just Live...Really Live! All the info is at the end of the post, so be sure and give him a shout out!

Working Like a Well-Oiled Machine

by Martin Wiles @LinesFromGod

He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love. Ephesians 4:16 NLT

Their schedule worked like a well-oiled machine. 

A week at our daughter and son-in-law’s house showed my wife and me how a well-oiled machine can work. With three kids, school schedules, scouts, church activities, teaching responsibilities at church, and a small baby, they must work together, or something will go lacking. 

On the refrigerator was stuck an erasable schedule, telling what they had planned for supper each night. My mom hated it when we asked her what she planned to cook for supper. I didn’t have to ask my daughter. The menu lay before me like a neon billboard. Our daughter cooks two nights a week, our son-in-law four, and they order out one night. 

And taking the kids to school? That, too, is scheduled. Our daughter takes them twice a week: on the mornings our son-in-law has an early morning men’s breakfast at one of the local Mexican restaurants and on the day he works a twelve-hour shift. Our son-in-law takes them the other three days, so our daughter doesn’t have to wake their infant son. 

When it comes to church work, they also team up, partnering together to teach a roomful of four-and-five-year-olds on Sunday morning and a marriage class on Sunday night. While they do this, their two older boys attend their respective classes. On Wednesday nights, our son-in-law takes them to the Awanas program at church, and on Thursday nights, he carts them to scouts. 

Bath nights are also scheduled—and on the nights they don’t have other activities. This way, they can still get in bed on time, which also comes with a schedule. 

When the older boys get home from school, our daughter gives them a little playtime and then helps them with homework. By the time, our son-in-law arrives from work, all this is done, and they are ready for supper, baths, and bed. 

About halfway through our week with them, I said to our son-in-law, “I’m impressed at how you two work together.” 

“It’s the only way we can get things done,” he responded. “Most of the time, everything works out, but now and then we hit a snag.”

Knowing my daughter, her organizing everything didn’t surprise me. She does it with everything. Nor did our son-in-law’s acquiescence to her organization. My wife and I have known him since he was a teenager and saw the same tendencies in him. They make a good team, and they work together well. 

Paul says the church should operate the same way. God gifts His people, and He wants us to use those gifts in harmony to advance His Kingdom across the world. No lone rangers exist in God’s world—and they don’t in the writing world either. We need each other. 

Having been in church all my life, I can testify that sometimes the church functions as God intends, but sometimes, it doesn’t. When it doesn’t, it’s not because the gifts and talents are defective—or that God has erred in some way. Rather, it’s because we let other things get in the way: jealousy, selfishness, greed, anger, unforgiveness, pride, misplaced priorities. But God can help us settle each of these hindrances. 

Ask God to help you put aside whatever hinders you from being a well-oiled machine that helps to advance His love in your little piece of the world.

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Working Like a Well-Oiled Machine - Martin Wiles, @LinesFromGod on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

Don't Just Live...Really Live

by Martin Wiles

What does it mean to really live?
Using Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount as the blueprint, Dr. Martin Wiles answers some of the most pressing questions that Christians have about effective Christian living.
In this powerful work, Dr. Wiles shares eighteen insights for learning how to pray, handle our anger, love our enemies, overcome worry, have a healthy marriage, and so much more. Included are questions for personal reflection or group discussions. Don’t Just Live . . . Really Live offers a practical approach for discerning how to live out the Bible in today’s world.

Martin Wiles is the founder of Love Lines from God (www.lovelinesfromgod.com) and serves as Managing Editor for Christian Devotions, Senior Editor for Inspire a Fire, and Proof Editor for Courier Publishing. He has authored six books and has been published in numerous publications. His most recent book, Don't Just Live...Really Live, debuted in October of 2021. He is a freelance editor, English teacher, author, and pastor.