Chipping Away
By Jeannine Sawall
“And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory,
are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes
from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”
2 Corinthians 3:18 (NIV)
There is a story about a sculptor who was working on a current
project. He was carving a wolf out of a large stone. As a man stood by watching
the sculptor chip a little bit away here and a little bit away there, he asked
the sculptor how he knew what to carve off. The sculptor stopped what he was
doing for a moment, looked at the man and said “I chip away whatever doesn’t
look like a wolf. When I’m done chipping away those unwanted parts, then I will
have a wolf.”
We are like that block of stone in the hands of God. While God
loves us just the way we are, He loves us too much to leave us in our raw
state. He desires for us to become more and more like Jesus. He wants us to
grow and change and reflect His Son’s nature in our nature. He does this by
chipping away those things that are not like His Son. Even though the chipping
away can be painful at times, it means we aren’t stuck with the nasty,
unlikeable things in our nature. God is working to change those things.
As Christians, we want to bear the image of Jesus. Not because
it makes God happy; He already loves us in our imperfect state and not because
it will help us get to heaven. Christ died on the cross and did the work of salvation
for all men. No, we want reflect the image of Christ because it’s His image
shown through us that draws others to Him and His glory. As we become more and
more Christ-like in our nature, people are drawn to that “thing” that makes us
so different. They’re drawn to Jesus in us, which becomes more and more
apparent as our old nature is chipped away.
Having our rough edges chipped away can be a long and tedious
process; however, the beauty that lies beneath is worth the lessons learned and
the time required. It’s no mystery, we are flawed people and we will never see
perfection this side of heaven. However, if we allow God to work in our hearts,
chipping away all those things that are un-Christlike, we’ll soon bear the
image of Jesus and His glory more and more.
GOING DEEPER:
1. What areas in your life does the Lord need to chip away at?
2. Who in your life needs to see Christ’s image in you?
Further Reading:
Jeannine is a wife and mother of four great
boys. She works in the property management business. Jeannine serves in several
behind-the-scenes ministries at Oakwood and has a heart for those who are
grieving.
