Wednesday, August 6, 2003
Wednesday, August 6, 2003
So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away;
see, everything has become new!
In 1980 vandals wrecked the statue again, and again Ogden began the rebuilding process. In
1981 the cycle repeated, and Ogden has invested the last 10 years of his life competing with the
annual destruction done by the vandals. In March of 1989, doctors gave Ogden an estimate of
two more months to live in a 4-year bout with cancer. He is racing against time to repair the
statue one last time for people to see and enjoy.
How would you feel if you were a creator and you kept trying to create something beautiful,
something worth saving, something that would last for all eternity? Suppose someone kept
coming along and destroying your prize creation? Even worse, suppose your creation kept
destroying itself because it could not see the beauty you had intended.
God has created each of us to be beautiful. He has given to each of us eternal value. That is the
meaning of the cross. We don't have to compare ourselves with others. All we need to do is take
our eyes off them and turn our eyes to Jesus.
(2 Corinthians 5.17
NRSV)
PEOPLE magazine carried a story some time ago about a man who could understand some of
God's frustration. His name is William Van Ogden. An amateur sculptor, one day Ogden
happened to drive by a shattered statue. It was a statue of actress Myrna Loy that stood in front
of Venice High School in Los Angeles, CA. The statue was part of Harry F. Winebrenner's 1923
"Foundation of Education." The beautiful figure had posed gracefully for decades until vandals
dynamited it. Ogden repaired the work in 1979, donating his time and the materials.
Dear God, forgive me for destroying your creation, and help me to see the beauty of your
creation in me. Amen.
