The sculptor's work

Romans 5: 2 "Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us."

It may seem that God finishes the work of fashioning our bodies before we ever emerge into the waiting arms of our mothers.  Certainly He has knit us together in marvelous mystery before our birth and given us bodies that have the clock of growth built in.  And in our culture we celebrate the steps of maturity from early crawling and first words to good grades and athletic prowess.

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But I am convinced that the Sculptor's hand is still fashioning our bodies throughout our days.  Some will say that we should work to cling to the appearance of our young adulthood.  But I say it is better to celebrate the wrinkles and grooves as reminders of the deep work He has done to etch our characters through the storms of living.

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Consider, in your own life, the lessons hard-learned through work, family, parenting, marriage, society.  Deep channels have been dug in our hearts and we have been tempered in trials while also forming smile-lines from the peaks of joy.

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The young are unmarked outwardly and are, perhaps unaware, that the roller coaster of life will take them on a ride that is not only about experiences....more truly it is about the continued growth in character that never stops until the Sculptor lifts His hand from molding us and opens the door to receive us directly into His workshop.

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May we die to self as early as we can and bow before God, our sculptor, acknowledging Him as Lord and entering into His presence even now by trusting with all he weight of our lives in the Son, who bore the greatest strokes of the Sculptor on His body.

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blessings,

Rob Smith

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"Death is inevitable.  Life is a choice!"

John 11:25

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live."