I have always loved the Rocky Mountains and am so blessed to be back home once again. And I have always appreciated those who have captured them with their artistic gifts. I, on the other hand, can only look and admire as drawing a circle has always been a chore. And in that vein I especially admire the sculptors that have given us so many inspiring works of art. It amazes me how they can take a huge chunk of rock and create such an awesome piece of art. And I am not the only one who wonders how they do it. Someone once asked Michael Angelo how he was able to create such masterpieces out of granite…
In every block of marble I see a statue as plain as though it stood before me, shaped and perfect in attitude and action. I have only to hew away the rough walls that imprison the lovely apparition to reveal it to the other eyes as mine see it.
And that is just how God views each of His children… a masterpiece to be revealed. Within each member of the bride of Christ is that perfect and complete work of art, because within each of us is the “righteousness of Christ.” His perfection was placed within us the moment we surrendered our life to Him, and from that moment forward the “Great Sculptor” of the universe has been chipping away at the rough edges with His special hammer and chisel… His Holy Spirit.
That, once again, expresses the reason that Walk With God Ministries exists. God has placed in me the burden to see every one of Jesus’ brides become everything He created them to be. To see the righteousness that is within us revealed to the world so that The Sculptor will receive the glory. Remember the words of Paul that clearly reveal this process…
Rom 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Within each of us is the perfect image of our bridegroom. We each hold His character in our spirit and the Lord wants to see it revealed to the world in our daily life. And we are not only His perfect work of art, we are His special message…
Eph 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
A long time ago I looked up the word “workmanship” in the Greek, only to discover that it means something a whole lot more than it does in English. The word is poiema, from which we derive our word “poem.” God has written in each of our lives a poem for the world to hear, but the only way for that to happen is if we allow the Holy Spirit to reveal it.
And at the end of the day… at the end of our lifetime here on earth… that is what it’s all about… “Spiritual Maturity.” As we allow the Holy Spirit to “chip away” the rough edges and “write the words” of our life, the rock will become the revealed righteousness of our bridegroom and the words will become the testimony of His sacrifice.
And what is the key to all of it? It’s the same key that God revealed to Peter, which Jesus underlined in a key moment in His ministry…
Matt 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
And that rock was Peter’s “faith,” the faith that acknowledged and accepted the revelation from God that Jesus was His Son, Israel’s Messiah, and Peter’s savior. That is the same “rock” that we cling to today, and it is the rock that will allow the Lord to reveal His perfect work in each of us. All we have to do is allow Him to accomplish His promised work by our faith and trust in Him…
Phil 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ
Yes, as Jesus’ bride you are a rock! Your faith in the Master Sculptor and Poet and your submission to His work will allow Him to reveal His perfect image… the one that is waiting inside to be revealed to the world… to be revealed to His glory… I have only to hew away the rough walls that imprison the lovely apparition to reveal it to the other eyes as mine see it.