Joni and Friends Daily Devotional
A Message from Michelangelo
"He chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight." Ephesians 1:4
An artist in Florence, Italy, once asked the great Renaissance sculptor Michelangelo what he saw when he approached a huge block of marble. "I see a beautiful form trapped inside," he replied, "and it is simply my responsibility to take my mallet and chisel and chip away until the figure is set free."
Colossians 1:27 speaks of the hidden figure inside each believer, longing to be set free: "Christ in you, the hope of glory." This beautiful form is inside Christians like a possibility, a potential. The seed has been planted, the idea is there, and God uses affliction like a hammer and chisel, chipping and cutting to reveal His image in you. God chooses as His model His Son, Jesus Christ: "Those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son" (Romans 8:29).
What does this sculpture look like? God uses suffering to purge sin, strengthen our commitment to Him, force us to depend on grace, bind us together with other believers, produce discernment, foster sensitivity, discipline our minds, spend our time wisely, stretch our hope, make us long for truth, teach us thankfulness in times of sorrow, increase faith, and strengthen character. It's a beautiful image!
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When Christ is revealed in you, it is a unique sculpture. It is what patience, self-control, kindness, and a healthy hatred of sin looks like on you (and no one else). Your suffering is divinely hand-tailored to suit exactly what patience looks like on you. The "who" of who you are is transformed, like a form unfolding. "And we... are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit" (2 Cor. 3:18).
Help me not to focus on the hammer and chisel of suffering, Lord, but on You, the Sculptor. Help me to yield to the chisel today. Change me. Reveal Yourself in me. And be glorified!
Blessings,
Joni and Friends
www.joniandfriends.org
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