There is a story told by James W. Moore in his book, Some Things Are Too Good Not to be True, about a man who had a huge boulder in his front yard. He grew weary of this big, unattractive stone in the center of his lawn, so he decided to take advantage of it and turn it into an object of art. He went to work on it with a hammer and a chisel and chipped away at the huge boulder until it became a beautiful stone elephant. When he finished, it was a gorgeous, breathtaking sculpture of art.
A neighbor asked, “How did you ever carve such a marvelous likeness of an elephant?”
The man answered, “I just chipped away at everything that didn’t look like an elephant!”
If you have anything in your life right now that does not look like love, then, with the help of God, chip it away! If you have anything in your life that does not look like compassion, mercy or empathy, then, with the help of God, chip it away! If you have anything in your life that does not look like sincerity, truthfulness or honesty, then, with the help of God, chip it away! If you harbor hatred, prejudice or vengeance in your heart, then, with the help of God, chip it away! If you are holding on to resentment, bitterness or grievances, then, with the help of God, chip it away! If you lack forgiveness, kindness or charity, then, with the help of God, chip it away!
God calls all of His children to come and cleanse their sinful nature, to get rid of those sinful boulders that block God’s grace and mercy from chipping away all those regrets, all those disappointments and all those immoral acts we have done. The God of salvation and restitution will chip away all those wrongful deeds so that we may be justified, rectified and glorified through Christ’s love for us.
¨ For it is through our belief in Jesus the Christ that we are saved. (Acts 16:31)
¨ For God saved us by His grace when we put our faith and belief in Him, for it is a gift from God. (Ephesians 2:8)
¨ And if we stay faithful until the end, we will share in all the blessings that belong to Christ. (Hebrews 3:14)
¨ Surely, God’s goodness and love shall be with us all the days of our lives. (Psalm 23:6)
Pastor Mark