My wife and I recently had a discussion about a hand towel. We received an absolutely gorgeous one for Christmas. I’m talking about the kind of hand towel you’d place in the restroom or in the kitchen by the sink. It’s the kind of towel, in my mind, that should be used for drying one’s hands after washing them. However, this towel, as beautiful as it is, really cannot serve this purpose. We both agreed that the purpose of the towel in question is for BEAUTY and not for drying one’s hands. It decidedly lacked function. In fact, it (and others like it) do an awful job of drying anything. It is made to look good, rather than to dry hands. Nevertheless, we decided we’d allow it, and moved on.
This reminded me of the phrase, “Form follows function.” I don’t remember exactly when I was introduced to this idea, but I do remember it making an impact on me, as I consider myself to be particulary pragmatic. For example, although I’m quite taken when I see a Corvette in action, I cannot imagine owning one. “It’s not practical,” I’d say to myself. “You can’t use it to haul things. You can’t transport many people with it.” Being the father of six and the grandfather of almost eleven, transporting people is what I do. Case closed.
This is why the towel thing gets under my skin just a little. I mean, who’s ever heard of a hand towel that’s not for your hands?
Tips from Design Pros
I often look at situations like this and say, “There’s a message here.” This was no exception. It hit me like a ton of bricks when I began to consider function following form rather than the reverse. My mind immediately went to the spiritual realm.
Before I dive into the sermon, let’s first consider what ChatGPT told me about “form following function.”
The phrase “form follows function” is a principle from design and architecture, meaning that the shape or appearance of an object should be primarily based on its intended purpose or function. It suggests that functionality is the most important factor in design, and aesthetics should naturally emerge from that. For example, in architecture, a building’s layout and structure should first serve the needs of its occupants before focusing on decorative elements. In product design, a chair should be comfortable and stable to sit on before considering its visual appeal. The idea emphasizes practicality and efficiency, often associated with modernist movements. It encourages stripping away unnecessary ornamentation, ensuring that the design is driven by utility rather than purely artistic considerations.
So, if I’m understanding this correctly, designers, according to this principle, should concern themselves with how a thing works before they concern themselves with how a thing looks. In other words, “Who cares how beautiful it is if it doesn’t work?” Can you tell I’m still sore about the towel?
I know all of you artsy people out there are just fuming at this moment if you’re still reading at all, but I do have a point to make, I promise. And I’m not against beautiful things either. Trust me.
Functioning Well Spiritually
What I’m getting at is that I’ve spent a lot of time in my Christian life being concerned with appearances. If you artsy people are still reading, now you’re really angry, but yes, I’m guilty of this. It’s a human thing, though. It’s actually a fallen human thing. If we look back in Genesis 3, we see Adam and Eve working to decorate themselves with fig leaves. Rather than get to the real issue (sin), they decided to attempt to cover it up. I say “attempt,” because it didn’t work. Kinda like our hand towel. Things were no longer functioning well, so the solution fell on the side of “form.” I do that a lot myself, so I’m not at all judging our first parents. Why not just try to pretty things up instead of putting in the difficult work of getting to the heart of the matter?
And that leads me to what I’d really like to say.
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what the Bible says about how we believers in Christ become more like Him. I know that God has many plans for us, but I would have to say that transforming us into His image is top of the list. Wouldn’t you agree? So as I said, I’ve been thinking a lot about how He goes about this transformation. I would imagine He does it in a variety of ways. One thing that comes to mind is through trials. When we are tried, we are often pushed closer to Him.
My focus, though, is on another method He uses. Take a look at this verse:
But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
2 Corinthians 3:18
What We Know from Scripture
What I glean from this verse is that we become more like Him when we read His Word. Specifically, I believe that we become more like Him when our focus on Christ in His Word increases. His Son is, after all, the brightness of His glory.
It’s that simple! I have to admit that I’ve tried to “make” myself more like Him and I’ve failed. I’ve also tried to “make” myself look like Him as well. That doesn’t end well either.
I remember a sermon I heard many years ago, and in it the speaker said something that resonated with me and it still does today. He said something like, “The most natural thing in the world for a tree to do is bear fruit if it’s nurtured and provided with all its needs. You don’t have to take a piece of fruit and attach it to a tree. It just bears fruit.” This is exactly what I’m talking about. When we stay in His presence via his Word, we are getting what we need. Jesus spoke of this in John 15:4.
In Summary
So, to tie up all of my thoughts here, we should not approach our life with God as the makers of said hand towel approach manufacturing. They were obviously after form to the ommission of function. One of our functions as Christians is to shine for Him in this world. We can’t do this by trying harder to shine. We can also not do this by telling people how much we shine. The only way I know to shine for God is to get into His presence through His Word and through prayer. When I do that, I walk away just a little more like Him.
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