The master sculptor’s name is Jesus and he’s chiseling a lot of marble in your life. He’s showcasing Christ in you.
SHAUNA: Hi, I’m Shauna on Joni Eareckson Tada Sharing Hope – with a little sculpting lesson from Joni.
JONI: An artist in Florence, Italy once asked the great Renaissance sculptor Michelangelo what he saw when he approached a huge block of marble. The famous sculptor stood back, looked at that block of marble, rubbed his chin, and replied, “I see a beautiful form trapped inside and it is my responsibility to take my mallet and chisel and chip away until the figure is set free.” Don’t you love that illustration? Because inside of us is a beautiful image of what God thinks we can be. Colossians 1:27 speaks of the hidden figure inside of each believer longing to be “set free.” It is “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” The image of Christ is within us, like a seed, like a possibility, it’s what you hope for; Christ in you glorified through your life, right? The idea is there, and our Heavenly Father is a lot like the sculptor. He wants to release his Son in us. And so, he uses affliction like a hammer and trouble like a chisel, and he chips and cuts away at us through trials to reveal Jesus’s image in you and me. God chooses us as model his Son, Jesus Christ, because Romans 8:29 says, “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son.”
I don't need to tell you that you and I have lot of hard marble that needs to be chipped away, right, before Christ can be seen in us? And oh, does the hammer hurt. Those trials, that chisel that bites. I can attest to that sitting in this wheelchair for so long. But after time, the rough form begins to take shape. God uses suffering to purge sin out of your life and mine and strengthen our commitment to him. God uses affliction to bind you together with other believers and foster sensitivity toward others who hurt. God hammers and chisels to discipline your mind and teach you to spend your time wisely. The hammer and the chisel makes you stretch your hope, long for truth, give thanks in times of sorrow. And oh, my goodness, whata beautiful image it creates. That’s Christ in you!
When Jesus is revealed in you, it is unique. It is what 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 taking shape. And we, like it says in 2 Corinthians 3; “are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, glory after glory after glory; all of it which coming from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”
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 those tools of suffering; but focus on him, the sculptor. Yield to the chisel today because you know who is handling it. May God reveal himself in you.
SHAUNA: And listening friend, let’s thank God for what our master sculptor is chiseling in our lives. He’s showcasing Christ in you and Christ in me, the hope of glory! And remember, we love hearing from you at joniradio.org. We want your prayer requests, and our prayer teams count it a great privilege to hold you up in prayer. So, visit us today at joniradio.org!
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