An artist in Florence, Italy once asked the great Renaissance sculptor Michelangelo what he saw when he approached a huge block of marble. Michelangelo stood back and looked at that big square block of marble, rubbed his chin very thoughtfully, and then he replied, “I see a beautiful form trapped inside and it is simply my responsibility to take my mallet and chisel and chip away until the figure is set free.”
Wow! What a beautiful image. You can relate to that, right? Inside of us is a beautiful form... Colossians 1:27 says so. It speaks of the hidden figure inside of each believer longing to be “set free.” It is “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” This beautiful form is inside Christians like a possibility, like a seed, like a potential. The idea is there and the Father is a little like that sculptor. He wants to release his Son in us. And so, he uses affliction like a hammer and trouble just like a chisel, and he chips and cuts to reveal Jesus’ image in you and me. God chooses as his model his Son, Jesus Christ, “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son” (Romans 8:29).
Well, I don’t need to tell you that there’s a lot of hard marble that needs to be chipped away before Christ can be seen in you and me. That hammer hurts; that chisel bites -- I can attest to that sitting in this wheelchair. But after time, the rough form begins to take shape. What does this sculpture look like? Well, God uses suffering to purge sin, strengthen our commitment to Him, and force us to depend on grace. God uses suffering to bind us together with other believers, produce discernment, foster sensitivity. God’s got the hammer and chisel in hand to help discipline our minds, spend our time wisely, He teaches us to stretch our hope, makes us long for truth, teaches us to give thanks in times of sorrow, increase faith, and strengthen character. What a beautiful image!
When Christ is revealed in you, it is a unique sculpture. It is what patience, and self-control, and kindness, as well as a healthy hatred of sin looks like on you (and no one else).Your suffering is divinely hand-tailored to suit exactly what patience should look like on “you.” The “who” of who you are is transformed, like a sculpture unfolding. “And we... are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:16-18).
Today, however and in whatever way you are feeling the bite of the chisel, or the hardness of the hammer, ask God to help you not to focus on the hammer or chisel of suffering, but focus on him, the Sculptor. Yield to the chisel today. May God... change you. May God reveal Himself in you. Michelangelo may have sculptured some beautiful things that have endured for centuries... but what God is doing with his mallet and chisel in your life is going to last for eternity.
Used by permission of
JONI AND FRIENDS
P.O. Box 3333
Agoura Hills, CA 93176
© Joni and Friends