Michelangelo

Michelangelo didn't just paint church ceilings, he also was a great sculptor as well. Michelangelo would get a huge, shapeless hunk of marble and start by using a large hammer and chisel to break away large chunks of the marble block away. After that he would use a smaller hammer and chisel to chip away at the marble to define the shape he was making. After that process was over sand paper would be used to round edges, smooth areas and define even more what Michelangelo was creating. And finally he would use a damp velvet cloth to smooth and shine the finished product, resulting in something such as this...

Many people would ask ole "Mike" how he created that from a hunk of marble. He would reply, "I didn't, it was there all along. I just let it out." He called it "Releasing the form inside"

All this reminded me of mankind and untimatly myself. I believe God created us all with something beautiful and wonderful and amazing inside of us. God created
me with something beautiful and wonderful and amazing inside of me! But ever since I was about 8 years old I havn't believed that to be true. That wonderful thing inside of me had been knocked around, chipped and roughed up. But it's still inside of me, waiting to come out for me to put to use and for the world to see.

But as Michelangelo shows us it ain't always a pretty process getting that out. It needs to be chiseled away, chipped, broken and sanded down. Fortunatly after all that comes the velvet cloth to sooth and shine.

If I want to live as God truly intended me to I need to bring out what He's already placed inside of me. Bring on the chisel Lord.