Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world

Vol. 4
Transformation Story
I was having breakfast with two friends the other day. One was saying that someone she knows is supposed to be a Christian, (me) but sometimes she doesn’t act like it. She gets mad, lashes out and hurts people’s feelings. It came to me that we Christians are a lot like onions. Once Christ starts His work in us He peels the sin layers off one by one (and sometimes it takes a while) until we are made perfect for use in His recipe. In all recipes there is a start and a finish. It’s a process you go through to reach the end result. In the beginning you can’t tell what it’s going to be.

In the process of peeling this onion, our eyes and anyone standing too close may get a tear. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad onion. It’s a great onion, sweet and tasty, the way God made it. He made it; He chose it. Sometimes we must put up with the tears to have a divine sandwich or salad. Once it’s blended with all the other ingredients it compliments the others and as a whole recipe, it’s perfect and there are no more tears! Just like us!!! Have you ever eaten caramelized onions? They have been cooked over low heat for a long time, but in the end they are incredibly sweet.

It’s easy to judge people; we all do it, but try to remember the hard dry shell that once covered the onion. Once it was covered in dirt and lived in the ground! Take that shell away and the beautiful, tasty, sensitive part is revealed. The protective barrier that once covered the juicy inner part is gone and the poor onion is sitting there naked, waiting for the knife to dice it. Who can blame it for making our eyes water a bit. Christ will decide how to use it in His recipe. We don’t have the cookbook; much less know how He will use it, but He will. It’s His onion!

My experience with Christ’s peeling process was/is extremely difficult at times. I’ve resisted, complained, tried to hide, even practiced self-peeling. I’ve thought if I gave up some of my less used sin layers voluntarily He may allow me to keep others that I held especially dear to me in exchange. Did that work for me? Not so much. He found layers I didn’t know I had and unceremoniously yanked them off. Layers buried deeply in my soul that I thought I’d hidden from Him long ago. There they were, coming out of the cheap seats, marching across my conscience wearing bulls’ eye underwear, and He had his sights set on all of them.

When it comes to onions, I’m a Bermuda, a BIG Bermuda. Lots of sin layers! Some of you may be instantly peeled, (Spring onions) but for others it takes years of praying, throwing ourselves before His Mercy Seat and allowing Him to decide which recipe He will use us in. I’m so grateful that He loves us enough to use the ‘drops’ of this world and not just the market perfect ones. No life is wasted if they turn it over to the Master Chef.

Their sins and the evil things they do – I will not remember anymore. Jeremiah 31:34

Wes’s Onion Story

When we peel an onion there are various layers, like Prudence said, and a variety of thickness to those layers. The deeper we peel eventually the tears come.

When I think of how God has peeled this ole onion the tears do come. Not because of how sorry I feel for my self, but for the mercy He has shown me and for those I've hurt.

It wasn't until Feb. 2nd, 1996 that I started to realize how this onion had been in the bin too long, and was about to completely rot. That night, after what seemed like an eternity of prayer, not only from me, but from others asking God to show me a way to rid myself of that one thing that controlled my life, the layers were revealed.

For years I had been controlled by drinking. It was then I realized that I was the typical onion. But first God showed me how to deal with the outer layers. When I began to deal with the drinking problem He showed me other areas of my life that were hidden below the ugly brown wrinkled layers that were on the outside. He showed me that tobacco was also something that controlled me. There were areas like anger, going back for years I needed to deal with. The loss of a younger brother when I was nine years old that I've never really gotten over.

Unfortunately my family has had to pay a deep price for my selfishness, but they have always been the family God intended me to have. Never once did they turn their back on me. The church He brought me to twenty one years ago was the church he intended for me to have, because even though some of you talked to me like a Dutch uncle, you never turned your back on me. And most importantly He is the God I'm intended to have, because when I thought I was walking alone those foot prints in the sand were him carrying me.

So when we start peeling that onion remember, God wants that onion to be peeled and He'll use it for his glory.

Bless you all, Wes Thomason

If there are any other onions out there who would like to share their story with us just let me know. Thanks, Prudence

I’ve created a blog for all of the Fishwrappers at www.thefishwrapper-prudence.blogspot.com feel free to go there, read and share with your friends. Comment on any of the stories that touch you.