Key Scripture: Hebrews 5:8-9

Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;

Relevance

While strolling around a farmer's market a couple of weeks ago, I noticed something that impacted me. Outside one of the tents, a master craftsman diligently chiselled away on his project while engagingly talking to passers-by. 

What was he creating? 

Well, before I go into that, I want to talk about obedience and suffering. We often forget our key passage because we think of Jesus as being perfect throughout His entire life in every situation—a picture of daily saintly beauty.

He would have been exemplary to a great degree. If we look at Enoch, who God took at a young age because he "pleased God", then no doubt Jesus would have pleased God more. Yet, our key passage states that Jesus, like us, learned obedience. What was one of the ways He learned? By suffering.

Thankfully, not all our learning comes through suffering. We also read, pray, and meditate, then practice what we've understood, which helps us grow in spiritual stature. But there are times when the master craftsman brings out the hammer and chisel.  

The market's master craftsman was making a rocking horse from a shapeless block of wood.His stand displayed two horses, one perfect horse and one not so perfect. I looked the perfect horse over and over and couldn't fault it. The symmetry and contour were fautless, as were the proportions. It was so smooth I had to restrain myself from hugging it and sliding my hand across its flank. Simply flawless! 

He had another horse as well. He was working on this one at the time. The rear half of the horse looked as perfect as the completed horse. Again, it was hard not to rub my hand over the smooth finished work.

But the unfinished front half was still being chiselled away, roughing out the basic shape first. It was difficult to recognise and almost impossible to reconcile that the front half and back half were from the same horse. That huge chunk of raw timber bore only a slight resemblance to a head, neck and shoulders. It was as if a child were trying to shape a piece of firewood with a tomahawk.  

When we judge people—and even ourselves—for imperfections and faults, we too often focus on areas like the unfinished head, neck and shoulders of the second horse rather than on the wonders God has already produced in the rest of the body. We've conditioned ourselves to speak poorly of someone whose parts God hasn't finished with yet, rather than edify the changes that God has already made.

The work on the horse looked highly difficult —an operation only a master craftsman could perform. Did we, the watchers, judge him on the unfinished block covered in splintered chunks or the finished horse next to it?

So why do we, as Christians, always seem to find fault with our brothers and sisters, focusing on the unfinished? God hasn't finished with us, either. 

If the Holy Spirit is within us, we should elevate the changes He has already accomplished in a person. Let's focus on the finished bits and praise the Lord for what He has done. 

Prayer

Precious Father, I thank you for your work in us. We see from our rocking horse example how difficult we can be to craft. The horse has no brain or heart, or desire to go its own way, like we do. Thanks for keeping on keeping on. We praise you for your merciful and tireless work on us. 

Photo by Helena Lopes