Me: They did a great job with the detail.

Prodigal: Yes, it is a lovely work of art.

This is from the book The Discipline of Grace by Jerry Bridges

As I was sitting in the doctor’s waiting room one day, my eye was drawn to a remarkable picture of a man being sculpted. The sculpture was complete down to about midthigh, and the finished work showed a very robust and muscular man with the kind of physique of men would like to have. The striking thing about the picture, however, was that the artist had put the hammer and chisel in the hands of the man being sculpted.

I was fascinated by the picture and wondered what message the artist was trying to convey. Perhaps he was trying to paint a picture of the so-called self-made man. As I studied the picture, however, I marveled at how it did depict so well the way many Christians try to live the Christian life. We try to change ourselves. We take what we think are the tools of spiritual transformation into our own hands and try to sculpt ourselves into robust Christlike specimens. But spiritual transformation is primarily the work of the Holy Spirit. He is the Master Sculptor.

Romans 12:11

Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org