If you're an artist, you may get this more than most, but drawing takes a lot of steps. First, there's an image in mind that the artist tries to portray on the paper. The artist knows what they want it to look like, regardless of what anyone else sees.
Next, the artist starts out with a rough sketch. Grey lines that somewhat mark what shape the picture should be. Pencil marks create a loose border, a fuzzy image compared to the picture in mind. Now artists can sometimes be tempted to stop here, because it still looks good. But looks alone won't do, if the artist leaves at this step, they'll know it's not complete. They'll know they didn't finish, even though the rest of the world might see something good.
Now this temptation to stop at a sketch is derived from the next step. Erasing. It's the hardest thing to do when you've already spent an hour drawing out all these lines. But if you're going to see your drawing through to the end, you need to erase the rough edges, so that you can take the grey areas and form a solid black line.
This next step is also intimidating. The artist has to draw now in permanent ink. What if the line isn't quite right? What if it's off? You can't erase it. It's a mistake. Or you can trust the process. After all, great artists use mistakes and incorporate them into their piece.
This is where I tell you, I'm not actually here to talk about art. I'm here to talk about our lives in faith. I'm going to go through these steps again, but instead of thinking of ourselves as the artist, we're going to pretend we're the paper. At first glance, there's nothing particularly special about a piece of paper. If you were to walk into most businesses and ask for a piece of paper, they'd give you one for free. It only become valuable when art is put on it or when words are printed on it.
See God looks at us like a blank sheet of paper and He envisions, like an artist, what we can become. God says to Jeremiah, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations."
Then God begins His work on us. Things like going to church and Christian school and reading you Bible, they sketch out lines. Something starts to take shape. We learn morals, but there's still some grey area to us. I'll say this, a lot of Christians are tempted to stay here. To some outside observer, the sketch of our life looks good. It looks like we're going to church and going through the motions, but between the artist and the paper, they know it's not complete.
Like the artist, not wanting to erase what they've done, we're tempted to stay as sketches because we're afraid of what might be erased. As paper, we pull back as soon as God takes out an eraser. The Bible talks about this a lot as pruning a tree or refining gold in fire. When we take that plunge and allow God to work on our lives, things start changing. When I stepped up in my faith and said that I wanted to live for God, I lost my best friend. I had to give up habits and selfish desires.
Again, the natural reaction is to pull back and say "you know what, I'm good enough. Right? I'm Christian enough." But you and God know there's still work to be done. After some erasing, comes the solid lines. What seemed grey and fuzzy is now very black and white. A sin is a sin. Isaiah says, "But now, O LORD, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand."
When these solid lines in our lives get drawn, the real picture starts to emerge. The faith behind the motions is evident. When we trust in God and let Him work in our hearts, the picture that He sees comes out. An artist can depict things like the nativity and the resurrection, and the same is true with us. Our lives can depict God's love for those who haven't had a chance to go to Christian school, who don't read their Bible, who don't feel welcomed in church.
It's our lives, through the work of God, that helps someone else start to sketch out what their lives will be. God has looked at each of us and seen a different picture, a different work or art. Not everyone's an artist, but everyone has gifts and abilities they can use for God's glory. Even if it's something as simple as just showing up to help someone.
"And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ."
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