My life, your life, is a work in progress.

A True artist may spend decades, yeah, a lifetime on one masterpiece. When acquiring a granite block, a sculptor doesn't rush for his chisel and haphazardly chip away hoping to simply uncover a hidden figure in the center, as if on an archaeological dig. A painter reaches for a chair on which to sit and gaze at the blank canvas before his eyes. Before commencing to create a "work of art" the creator must have a vision for his finished work.  It may takes weeks, months, or years for him to envision what he will paint or sculpt. Money and time mean nothing in comparison to seeing  his/her dream become a reality, to be thing of beauty that will endure for generations to come.

Each one of us is a work of art. Our Creator-Father has invested His heart is shaping and moulding us daily.  Time doesn't matter. He has all the resources He needs at His disposal. As we yield our heart, mind and will to Him, He can then begin to work on making us into a thing of beauty that will endure for generations to come. 

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The sculptor with chisel in hand, hammers away the excess stone. The "rough work" has begun. It might take innumerable hours of chiseling, chipping away, shaping the rock.

Our Heavenly Father uses the hammer of His Word to purge from our hearts and minds, and life, all the excesses that are needless or useless to Him. The time for this  is dependent upon the vision God has for us; and how soft we are to the chiselling process, and just how much must be chiseled away. 

Engraving a name and date on a gravestone is nothing compared to releasing a lion from it's prison of marble. 

Next is the refinement of the rough cut.  The basic form is there, and it is time to shape it to more closely resemble the finished work.

The LORD, after the work of casting off the unusable stuff, takes us in His loving hands and begins shaping us. At first the marble cast away might have been some blatant sin, but now it is those questionable things in our lives-friends, activities, books, clothes, movies,....  These are smaller pieces to get rid of but must be removed if the desired result is to be achieved.

Now the tedious work begins. Hours pass by as a blink of the eye when trying to get it "just right".

 The Master Sculptor knows no time. He will keep right on working on the trouble spots to get them just right. He will keep on working on us until we are finished.

Last of all is the polishing. Lovingly, gently, firmly, the stone is rubbed, and scrubbed, and buffed, and polished until it gleams and sparkles in the sunlight. Then the artist is satisfied with his work and proclaim voila'!

Our Sculptor has to polish us as well. He lovingly, gently and firmly rubs, scrubs, buffs and polishes us until we gleam and sparkle too. He wants us to shine in the light of His Dear Son, Jesus Christ.

His vision for us is to conform us to the image of Jesus. How does He accomplish this?  Each trial, hardship, calamity, broken dream, shattered hope; each joy, blessing, hope fulfilled; is part of the process. The more we resiste the longer it takes, but to Him that is nothing. Time is for us, not Him. Often life is like the blink of an eye. We feel so young inside, and yet the calendar reminds us that time is fleeting....a vapour that vanished away. 

Oh dear Sisters, will you yield yourself to the Artist and His Vision for you?  Will you submit to the pain as He cuts away the junk?  Will you be still and know He is God as He smoothes and refines those areas that need work?  Can you linger long enough to wait for Him to take you into His Hands and Lovingly polish, buff, and soothe your weary, aching soul and heart? 

Sisters, is the price to high?  Too often I've heard ladies saying, "He's still working on me." and they've used it as an excuse to sin. Sister, oh dear Sisters, is He really working on YOU?  Have you laid on the altar YOUR ALL for Him to conform you to the image of Christ?  Have you fought against the chisel, and pulled away from the polishing cloth? 

When God speaks to you about giving up some thing or endeavor or ministry, do you cry out "anything Lord but not THAT"? 

Today is Resurection Sunday. Sisters, Jesus gave it all for us. He left His Royal Perfect Abode in Heaven; He left the Praise and Glory that surrounded Him Eternally, He submitted to the Will of the Father and humbled Himself to become flesh and blood, to feel pain, and sorrow; to be shamed and hated; to be rejected and suffer grief beyond all human comprehending; He GAVE, He GAVE, He GAVE it all, for US!  Imagine being Perfect and Powerful and Righteous forever, and one day, you aren't. Jesus did that for us.  Jesus was suddenly placed in time and space, and in a shell that limited His power. On the cross, He took all our sin on himself.  Imagine being perfect and not knowing what sin felt like and having the weight of it on you...it might well be likened to always being thin and waking up weighing hundreds of pounds more for other people.  That is what God did for us.

Can you still honestly say "it is too much to ask" when God knock on yoru heart or asks you to give up this, or to do that? 

Your life, and mine, are works in progress. Only when we are put on display in Heavens Museum of Art will we know how perfect or imperfect we are. The only one we can blame for the imperfect or unfinishedness of our life is ourselves.  God does all things well. He finishes what He starts if we yield ourselves to the Potters hand. 

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