Building A Model Takes Time

1979 Monogram Models Advertisement

Isaac brought home a model airplane the other day and wanted us to put it together after dinner. I tried to explain to him that model airplanes take quite a bit of time to assemble; days, sometimes weeks, maybe even a month or two! In addition to a lot of time, building models takes patience especially in learning how to use the tools and supplies properly; painting the pieces, cutting them out with an X-ACTO® knife, applying the model glue and putting the pieces together with tweezers while looking through a magnifying glass. It's a lot of work. Then I tried to explain to him that model airplanes are not supposed to be played with, but displayed and 'looked' at. He crinkled his nose at that bit of information.

All of this didn't stop or deter him. He was determined to put it together and play with it. So, after dinner, we slapped it together with super glue because we didn't have any model glue. We didn't paint it because we didn't have any model paint. We left out a lot of pieces too because he had removed them from the spruces. (In case you don't know, a spruce is the plastic frame that the parts come attached to. On the spruce next to each part is a number that corresponds to the instructions. This is how you know where each piece is supposed to be placed. You don't remove a part until you need it.) It was a learning experience for both of us. I'm just glad the thing only cost $2. Although it looks nothing like the picture on the box, he's been playing with it as it slowly falls apart.

I couldn't help but draw a connection between this plastic model airplane and Biblical models that we should have in or communities. Like the plastic model airplane, Deacons are to be observed by the other members of the community as models. Plastic model airplanes are a miniature replica of an ideal or perfect aircraft while Deacons are not perfect individuals, but rather, believers in Yeshua who are exemplary in their walk with Him. They fit the requirements found in 1 Tim 3 and Titus 1; they have been tested and have proved themselves fit to bear the title of Deacon. If someone is put into the office of a Deacon without first being tested, it will only be a matter of time before they are tested. A Deacon that falls has the potential of causing other members of a community to stumble.

"...let them also be tested first;"

1 Tim 3:10, ESV

Isaac wants to buy another model airplane so we can assemble it together. This time, he says, he wants to do it the right way so he can display it for all to see.

Below a timely AdWeek article on the topic. I hate the term 'tween'. Anyway...

At one time, 80 percent of tween lads built plastic models. Not any more.
By Robert Klara



~