CREDIT: Vintage News Daily
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Artists amaze me! They see things many of us miss. Then, using their gifts, they bring imagination to reality. Sculptors, whose medium is solid rock, are a good example. Where you and I see a rock, they see something else. And then, one swing of a hammer on a chisel at a time, sculptors carve away excess, useless pieces of rock to reveal the object of their imagination.
We are individual works of art who make up God’s people, the kingdom of believers. If we forget this, God reminds us, “Look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were dug.” (Isaiah 51:1) Like the master sculptor chips away at a rock one swing at a time, even God began creating His nation one person at a time. He selected one person, Abraham, to build His nation of believers. Through him, along with Sarah, God created a nation of priests, a kingdom of believers. Using His people God chips away, one swing at a time, bringing His promises of forgiveness of sin and eternal life to all mankind.
Paul writes, “For by grace you have been saved through faith … we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:8-10) We are individual works of art sculpted by our Father into the Body of Christ. By the power of the Holy Spirit, He chips away our sinful pieces of flesh to reveal His intended creation. He handcrafts each of us; giving us unique gifts He longs to use to bring others into His kingdom. Paul encourages us saying, “Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them.” (Romans 12:6) God has given each of us gifts – service, teaching, encouraging, leading, and so on. Let’s let God use us, like a hammer and chisel, to sculpt others into His people also. That they too might be joined to us - the Body of Christ.
In God’s Peace,
Pastor Jim