Genuine Leather

Genuine leather can be a hunter's best friend while deep in the woods, mountains, or backwater swamps we often find ourselves in. This was especially true in the old days of the backwoodsman, mountain men, and others who lived deeply connected to creation. A good leather coat will insulate from sharp winter winds, protect the skin from nature's daggers (otherwise known as a good ol’ bramble patch), and with fringe accents can provide quick and easy access to durable cordage that could be used for a multitude of purposes. The wide brim of a leather hat diverts rain from the eyes and keeps the head mostly dry. A good pair of leather boots can serve an outdoorsman for years, given the right care and attention. The leather binding of my favorite journal keeps my prayers and thoughts protected from the advances of nature. The usefulness of leather has, perhaps, yet to be fully applied in the field.

Like seasoning a cast iron skillet through years of searing fatty meats, the leather goods of a hunter can grow in usefulness as well as sentiment. In a world of synthetics and microfibers it can be refreshing and even more eye opening to experience the effectiveness and longevity of well worn leather. Though scorched through fiery summers, dirtied through seasons of exposure, and drowned in countless clearwater streams our leather goods prove that through testing and afflictions worth is proven. My boots bear the battle scars of miles of exploration and traversing through rugged terrain. Quite literally they have been covered in mud, blood, and sweat. Yet, through all this they still serve their purpose. No doubt, I see the worthiness of such an investment. T’was money well spent that kept my feet from being so.

Through the work of bittersweet refinement does leather become malleable, cherished, and productive in bearing the fruits of our labor. So it is with the heart of man also. It is Godly sorrow that brings us to repentance and eventually leads to salvation (2 Corinthians 7:10). And what is Godly sorrow except the slow and painful realization that we are but sinners before an almighty and just God. What amazing grace He extends, that he would turn our hearts of stone into hearts of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26).

My prayer is that, like genuine leather, I would be proven over time to be productive in producing the fruits that derive from the mysterious labor of the Holy Spirit within me. Like well worn leather, let me be more flexible in keeping in step with my savior. If leather be proven by affliction, then how much more must my soul be?

It’s not hard to distinguish the difference between new leather and that which has been worn. New leather is stiff and resistant to movement, but over time it learns to adhere to the commands given and begins to act willingly. New leather shines in a way that almost seems arrogant, but after seasons of humble trodding it reveals, in meekness, its true worth and value. Faith is, or at least should be, no different. It is not hard to distinguish the heart that has walked little with God and the one that has walked much with him. Like new leather my heart was once stiff and unmoving towards him. However, in his grace, he chose to wear my heart through seasons of affliction, so that I would learn to willingly and joyfully adhere to his truth in a way that leads to fruit producing life. While no long lasting season of physical affliction has come upon me to this point, the affliction I have experienced has been that of the heart and soul. God has slowly revealed in me all that was hostile and against his good work of making me like his son, Jesus Christ. This has produced many times the Godly sorrow that leads to repentance.

From my current perspective, I can see the effects of this transformative work. Like a leather coat worn through years of hunting seasons, my heart is starting to bear the scars of Christ’s work in me. He has changed the way my mind thinks about money, racism, and even my role in the local church. No more must I seek gain in earthly treasures, rather I should seek gain in Christ. If my finances abound, then I pray my generosity would abound all the more. No more should I stand idly by while minority brothers and sisters are persecuted, whether that persecution be crude joking or more serious and systematic means of suffering. No more should I give way to my conservative white inclinations that enable indifference and callousness of heart. No more should I be a mere consumer from my local church, seeking only what I can gain and not what I can give. No more should I be absent when it is within my ability to be present and highly invested in my community and in the lives of others.

In this and much more my heart has been merely pricked by the word of God. These drops of blood only begin to show the need for more repentance and renewal in Christ. Oh, that my heart would openly bleed and I would bear the marks of Christ within me. Through time may I become seasoned with the grace of God that proves his investment in me has not been wasted. At the end of me, I pray that I become like leather and grow to prove the genuineness of my faith and the effectiveness of God’s grace towards me. Through years of work in God’s kingdom and frequent seasons of bittersweet refinement let me be worn yet strong, scarred yet renewed, stretched yet firm in Christ.

Father, make our hearts to be like genuine leather.