Thursday, July 16, 1998
Thursday, July 16, 1998
And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus
Christ whom you have sent.
I like something that Dr. Robert Schuller wrote in one of his books. He notes that Michelangelo
attempted forty-four statues in his life, but he finished only fourteen. You are may be familiar with
some of them--David in Florence Square, the Pieta, and Moses, to mention a few of the best
known. But the thirty he did not finish are interesting, too. You can see them in a museum in Italy
. . . a huge chunk of marble from which he sculpted only an elbow or a wrist. Another shows a
leg, the thigh, the knee, the calf, the foot, even the toes. The rest of the body is locked in the
chunk of marble. It will never come out. "Could this be true for you?" asks Dr. Schuller. "Of all
the tragedies in life, the greatest is for a person to live and die and never come out of himself or
herself--never to realize the possibilities hidden within."
I want to give you an invitation. I want to invite you to look into the eyes of Christ by faith. I
want to invite you to see reflected there the beauty you were intended to be. And then I want
you to go forth today to live the dynamic Christ life. It doesn't matter who you are or what your
background is, you can begin living the Christ life today.
Prayer: Dear God, help me to live my life today as Christ would. Amen.
Ronald Newhouse, Texas, USA
(John 17:3
NRSV)