Masterpiece And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28 What is your definition of a masterpiece? Websters defines the word as a work done with extraordinary skill; especially: a supreme intellectual or artistic achievement. In 2005 I had the opportunity to go to Florence Italy and see Michelangelos statue of David in the Academia. The statue is an amazing sculpture; a colossus that stands 17 feet off its base. Michelangelo was just twenty six years old when he received the commission for David in 1501. He was given a flawed and neglected piece of marble that had previously been given to another sculptor for a statue of David. The other sculptor gave up on the piece nineteen years before Michelangelo received his commission and the marble was exposed to the elements during the interim. Many other artist were given the chance to finish David, but they rejected the commission because the marble was flawed and damaged, only Michelangelo believed he could make something beautiful out of something so flawed. How many times do you look at the circumstances of your life and think there is no way that my life can be considered beautiful. You have storms that come across your life that wreak havoc; your heart is ripped open because of the death of someone close to you, the illness of your child or the rejection of someone who promised to love you. You are battered and tossed by the winds of life and sometimes wonder what is the purpose of it all. If you are not careful, you will begin to believe the lie that your life will amount to nothing and just like that piece of marble, you may feel that you are flawed and neglected. And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Romans 8:28-29 In the hands of the master, the hammer and the chisel are utilized to chip away all the excess marble to reveal the image in the mind of the sculptor. The work is hard and it takes a long time to chip away at the edges and for the image to emerge. Just like the sculptor, God chips away at all the rough edges in our lives in order to create the image He has in mind. He chips away at the sin and the prejudices in order to shape us into the image of His son, Jesus Christ. We have this hope, that all things work out for good to those who love God and are called according to his purpose. This does mean that all things that happen to us are good, however, what you can trust is that IF you let him, God can work with even the bad things that happen in your life to create His masterpiece with your life. All things we go through, good and bad, can shape and mold us into the very image of Jesus Christ, however, we do need to allow God to work in our lives when we are going through difficult times. Then God will take our flawed, damaged and sinful lives and make for himself a masterpiece. James the half brother of Jesus put it this way: Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-4 When you are going though the trials of this life and you feel that you are getting nowhere, remember that God is still working. Just because you cannot see him working, does not mean he has finished. Gods ultimate goal is to create His masterpiece with your life and that may mean he uses the hammer and the chisel to knock off the pieces that do not resemble His son. Do not judge the value of the workmanship while it is still being created, because you will not see the true value of the work until after the Master is finished. Let us pray: Father God, there are so many times that I find myself doubting your goodness and faithfulness because of the circumstances in my life. I confess that I sometimes doubt you are working in my life because I do not see the results I want to see. Lord please forgive me in my times of momentary unbelief as I struggle to understand your purpose for my life. Lord I submit myself to your hand, help me to endure the trials as you make me into the image of your son Jesus. Lord I love you, please help me to love you more. In Jesus name I pray, amen.
Posted on: Fri, 05 Sep 2014 10:21:09 +0000
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