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From the pit of the quarry,
unfamiliar with the likes
of hammer and chisel,
but thankful for the rescue
by The Sculptor's Hand,
and so strangely eager
for a blood-tinged sweat,
I set my sights on being
transformed to only reflect
the great glory of Christ.
First come the big chunks,
unredeemed nature shaped
by flesh and worldly desires,
with workhorse chisel and
a driving mason's hammer,
crudely chipping out a rough
form of such beauty to be.
Then over long time coming,
tooth, flat and rondel chisels
define and refine our surface,
letting fall to the ground
all
obvious deceit and dishonesty,
selfishness and pride, anger
and bitterness, lust and
greed,
and immorality and idolatry.
Out come the abrasive sands
and rubbing stones to a
finish,
and depending on how hard
certain stones could well
be,
sand blasting, water jetting,
diamond cutting, and even
flaming, might be necessary,
and all the more painful
too,
to make His holiness shine.
In the end, at the gate of
glory,
from the Son of God becoming
man, so men could become
sons of God, such raw stones,
made into beautiful works
of art,
polished to an unimagined
sheen,
the work of sanctification
done,
we will enter looking like
none
other than the only begotten
Son.*
Romans 15:16
1 Corinthians 1:2, 1:30,
6:11
2 Corinthians 5:21
1 Thessalonians 4:3
2 Thessalonians 2:13
Colossians 3:5
1 Peter 2:2
*The
shaping tools of sanctifi-
cation used by the Holy
Spirit:
bible, prayer, worship,
fellow-
ship, volunteering and minis-
tries, trials and sufferings,
visions and callings, etc. |
