Knock Off Everything That is Not a Horse

Michelangelo was one of the world's greatest artists and sculturers. He kept students around him constantatly who wanted to learn his talent. The story is told of how one day he stood with a student staring at a block of marble. The student said, "Master, what do you see?" Michelangelo said, "I see a magnificent horse. Can you see it?" The student just stared, wanting to, but not seeing what the artist could see. Finally, the student asked, "So how do we begin?" Michelangelo said, "We knock off everthing that is not a horse!"

This is exactly what God is doing in your life everyday, knocking off everything that is not Christ! But He will not do it without you. Everything good in your life, everything difficult in your life, everything triumphant in your life, everything tragic in your life, everything is a tool in the hand of God to form Christ in you, with you, through you, as you, in the world around you, for His own glory.

This is something to know, as James 1:2 instructs us. We do not rejoice in trials, we rejoice knowing something in the trials. What do we know? We know that the trial is in the hand of God. He is in control of it and He knows what He is doing with it in our lives. Not only do we rest in knowing that God has this thing under His control, we also know that God is using it to chip away everything of Adam in our lives. In Christ, we are in the creation, the new humanity, Jesus Christ. As we received our sin from Adam, in Christ, we receive our righteousness, God's righteousness, by faith in Jesus Christ. We are born from above and receive new life, a new spirit, from God. Jesus made this possible on the cross as evidenced by the empty tomb. But even in Christ, we still have much of Adam on us that needs to be chipped away. Some would call it the rough edges. The Bible calls it the flesh. It is death and it has no part in the new creation.

So how can I join up with what God is doing in my life today? Present yourself to the Lord everyday through prayerfulBiblestudy. The computer does not recognize this word, but it is one word in the Spirit, prayerfulBiblestudy. You cannot separte these. If you do, you will come up short of presenting your whole self, body, soul, and spirit, to God. Follow the lead of the Holy Spirit in your life as He convicts you, strengthens you, teaches you, and assures you. He will give you wisdom by His power at work in you, knocking off everything that is not Christ. It may be painful, but He is also the Comforter. Blessed be His Holy Name!