The Art of Sanctification

“In every block of marble I see a statue as plain as though it stood before me, shaped and perfect in attitude and action. I have only to hew away the rough walls that imprison the lovely apparition to reveal it to the other eyes as mine see it.” Michelangelo

Today as I was talking with a dear friend, it struck me how much this is like our process of sanctification. When God sees us, he sees Christ, not the block of marble that we are. He loves us too much to let us stay as such. And so the master sculptor chips away at the parts of us that are unlike Christ. The removal is often painful. And even though I feel as if I started as the biggest block of marble, so much to remove, I've grown less and less attached to the rubble on the ground. I am excited for the master to carve, instead of wincing at his approaching chisel. In the beginning the sculptor uses a pitcher, a hefty chisel designed to quickly remove much material. But at times he must come in with fine tools to perfect a detail. I grow weary of my block and long to see a recognizable figure in the mirror. But I trust my sculptor, for he is master of all sculptors. I have confidence that he sees Christ instead of me, and that every blow, every chip, is used to bring me to that point. He will complete the work he has started in me; I press on for the day the rest of the world will see more of him and less of me, until then he sees Christ instead of me! How much grace that allows me to give others, for I am in such debt to grace myself.

Of course the analogy is not perfect, becoming Christ-like is not only a subtractive process but also an additive one. To leave the illustration at that would suggest that I am good at my core, which is clearly not the case. But it is only Christ in me, that new creation, that is now at my core that is the only good in me.