Gratitude for Sculpting

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It is, I suppose, a mark of our lack of gratitude that we have to set aside a day for it. A few days ago, we were having dinner at my daughter’s house. She and my son-in-law had a large pumpkin on the coffee table upon which our grandkids were daily writing things they were thankful for.

I find, unfortunately, that the things that come to my mind in these instances, and what prompted the things I wrote on the pumpkin, were those things that made me happy or content or satisfied. This morning, however, my wife brought in this little tomato. She is still nursing tomatoes in the Black Forest of Colorado and it is nearly December. It is very hard, at 7200’, to coax forth any fruit or vegetable life, yet here was this final little tomato.

But it wasn’t a normal tomato, it was misshapen. We have a lot of deer that roam through our place and they believe that God has given them every green thing for food, whether it is ours or not. So, we place a net over the tomatoes to make us think we can protect them. And here, with snow on the ground in the Rocky Mountains, is one hardy tomato, still alive and red, ripening on the vine. But it wasn’t a pretty tomato, as we think of pretty tomatoes. It had grown up in a difficult spot, with the net obstructing its growth, deforming it. I suppose during the growing time when all the other tomatoes were still on the vine, it was the “ugly duckling”.  Forgive me for making too much of a distorted tomato, but this malformed one caused me to think. 

I have a tendency to not thank God for the difficulties in my life, for those things that aren’t the way I want them. Remember what Joseph said to his brothers: “You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.” How often does God “sculpt” us because He means it for good? If you wanted to “anthropomorphize” a piece of marble, it would think that the sculptor’s chisel was not only painful, but maybe even cruel.

I may not like physical ailments or people who are irritating or exasperating, or circumstances that arise as insurmountable obstacles, but I have to, if I am truly wanting to walk according to God’s Word, see them in the light of His promises and who He is. I have to view them in the light of His Providence and Sovereignty and Grace, and persevere. It could be that the netting I believe is trapping me, suffocating me, getting in my way… is just the Sculptor’s chisel.

This little tomato persevered and survived them all… and I’m thankful for it.

Lord, help me to stop kicking against you, complaining and grousing when things don't go my way, but instead, have a heart filled with gratitude for your gracious, loving Hands as you sculpt me into something you desire... something that is far better and grander than my weak eyes and heart can comprehend.

"Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. . . . Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love Him" James 1:2-4, 12

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Judge
[preface] I suppose this attribute of God is one of the most rejected in our culture, for a people who have self-ascended into their own divinity surely deem themselves immune from judgment. Spurning the notion of transcendent truth, we now get to make up our own. “My Heart” becomes a divine voice and everyone should be obligated to acknowledge it as holy and unassailable. If I want to define my own sexuality, then the world should bow down and pay homage. The individual’s heart is revered as sacrosanct. This is why we have become a culture filled with little angry gods who are incensed with those who fail to pay them tribute. But, alas, there is reality. This is the reality that Paul writes about where the divine nature of God is evident to all men because of what God has made, yet man stand’s in defiance before Him and He therefore judges them[i]. 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Let us ponder this week the goodness and the severity of God. P.S. I suppose I ought to here do the most unpopular thing and comment on the “Only God can judge me” mantra of our culture. You see it tattooed on a lot of body parts and you see it on posters and in songs and, well, everywhere. Although it has its genesis in a rap by Tupac Shakur in 1996, it is used today as a shut-down phrase for anyone or anything that attempts to tell me I can’t do what I want to do. It certainly isn’t an endorsement for God as Judge. But, as we all tend to use biblical sayings for our own purposes, so, too, does this phrase attempt to silence all who would disagree with the right to follow the longings of my own heart. Don’t be fooled by it. [Previous: Jesus] [Next: Just] Verses to contemplate throughout the week: God’s judgment is against people who do evil acts. Revelation 2:23 The Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son. John 5:22 God is a righteous judge, and a God who feels indignation every day. Psalm 7:11 The heavens declare his righteousness, for God himself is judge! Selah Psalm 50:6 Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods? Do you judge the children of man uprightly? No, in your hearts you devise wrongs; your hands deal out violence on earth. Psalm 58:1-2 Behold, the day of the Lord comes, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger, to make the land a desolation and to destroy its sinners from it. Isaiah 13:9 For the Lord is our judge; the Lord is our lawgiver; the Lord is our king; he will save us. Isaiah 33:22 The king mourns, the prince is wrapped in despair, and the hands of the people of the land are paralyzed by terror. According to their way I will do to them, and according to their judgments I will judge them, and they shall know that I am the Lord.” Ezekiel 7:27 “Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, declares the Lord God. Repent and turn from all your transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin.” Ezekiel 18:30 Let the nations stir themselves up and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; for there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations. Joel 3:12 He shall judge between many peoples, and shall decide disputes for strong nations far away; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore; Micah 4:3 Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge. John 8:50 And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. Acts 10:42 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” Acts 17:30-31 “…on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.” Romans 2:16 “I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead…” 2 Timothy 4:1 Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door. James 5:9 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. Revelation 19:11 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Revelation 20:12-13     [i] Romans 1:18-32 [ii] 2 Peter 3:3-10 [iii] Genesis 3:1-20 [iv] Genesis 6-9 [v] Exodus 5-12 [vi] Genesis 19:1-29 [vii] Acts 5:1-11 [viii] Genesis 11:1-9 [ix] 2 Chronicles 26 [x] 2 Kings 9:30-37 [xi] 2 Kings 19:35 [xii] Numbers 16:1-35