But now, O Lord, You are our Father, we are the clay, and You our potter; and all we are the work of Your hand (Isaiah 64:8).
Artists and sculptors have a special ability to visualize their completed work.
The story is told of the great American artist James Whisler that he once went to the boat docks expecting a shipment of canvas for his paintings, but they weren’t there. That upset him, and someone asked him, “Were the canvases of any great value?” He replied, “Not yet!”
Gutzon Borglum was able to visualize the presidential figureheads on Mt. Rushmore even before the project was begun. Even though Borglum was a great sculptor, his workers encountered problems while carving the Jefferson head. They originally started carving Jefferson’s head to the right of Washington’s but discovered that stone was not strong enough to support the sculpture. A new site for Jefferson’s head was found after removing a lot of stone to Washington’s left. The old Jefferson head was blasted away.
Every stroke of the brush and every strike of the chisel has a purpose – a purpose only the artist or sculptor can visualize.
God sees you like that. He sees your potential. If you give your life completely to God, you’ll be astonished at what He will do with it.
God cannot only visualize the possibilities contained within our lives, but unlike human artists and sculptors, He even created the very material He is working with. From the dust of the ground and from the ribcage of a man, He made man and woman. Perfect in our creation, but then marred by our own sin, in order to complete the work He had begun it was necessary for our old sinful self to die (somewhat like the blasting away of the original Jefferson head), so that His perfect work could be completed in us.
There is value in a canvas to the artist because of what he is planning on doing with it. There is value in our lives because of what God can and will do with us. Unlike a blank canvas or hunk of clay, however, God wants our participation in His work. We are not simply a canvas to be used, but a life designed to bring Him glory.
He is the potter and has the vision for whatever His purpose is for us. Although we cannot visualize all He has planned, He can. Our part is to let Him work.
And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28).
One Focus Ministries 