The Marble and the Lion

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There was once a sculptor who worked hard with hammer and chisel on a large block of marble. A little child who was watching him saw nothing more than large and small pieces of stone falling away left and right. He had no idea what was happening. But when the boy returned to the studio a few weeks later, he saw, to his surprise, a large, powerful lion sitting in the place where the marble had stood. With great excitement, the boy ran to the sculptor and said, “Sir, tell me, how did you know there was a lion in the marble?”

The sculptor paused. Took in a deep breath as he gazed over his masterpiece. Then with a smile on his face and a light in his eyes he answered, “I just chipped away everything that didn’t look like the lion…”
“In every block of marble,” said Michelangelo, “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.” On another occasion, he Michelangelo said, “I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.”

Scripture compares us to blocks of clay and God is likened to a potter (see Isaiah 64:8 & Jeremiah 18:1-6). He is shaping and molding us into the image of Christ. This is His purpose for each and every one of us. Discipleship is the process of God, like the sculptor, chiseling away everything that doesn’t look like Christ. In other words, “Christ is formed in us” (see Galatians 4:19).

I’ve found the following questions a valuable prayer to pray:

God, how have you been shaping and molding me…?

Are there areas that I’m not reflecting the nature and character of Christ…?

There are seasons where I feel like God, the Potter is shaping me as a father and remolding how I communicate with my children. At other times, it may relate to how I interact with strangers.

God is the Potter. He is purposed to shape every part of us into the image of Christ.

How is the Potter currently molding and shaping you…?

You, LORD, are our Father.
We are the clay, you are the potter;
we are all the work of your hand.
–Isaiah 64:8

Prayer: God, I give you permission to chisel away anything that does not represent Christ in my thoughts, attitudes, speech, habits and way of life… Mold me into the image of Your Son…