Finding Life

            Danish artist, Bertel Thorvaldsen, was commissioned to make a statue of the resurrected Jesus.  To prepare for the marble statue, he made a larger-than-life-sized clay model.  Thorvaldsen made the image of Jesus with his arms outstretched, raised high with a gesturing command.  His head held high in triumph.  Finishing the clay statue, he left it in his studio for the clay to harden.  After several days, he went back to make small adjustments to the clay statue.  When he arrived, he couldn’t believe what he saw.  Because of a heavy rainstorm, dampness had invaded his studio and the figure had changed entirely.  Instead of head held high, it bent downwards.  The arms had fallen as well.  Thorvaldsen felt his statue of Christ was beyond repair.  He grabbed a hammer and was about to demolish the statue.  But he couldn’t do it.  With a pang of remorse, he left the studio.  For some time, he could not bring himself to reenter the studio.  Finally, he went back to the studio accompanied by a friend.  When they entered the studio, they stood in awe.  Bathed in light from nearby windows, the lowered arms no longer depicted defeat.  They saw in them the compassion of God.  They saw in the statue the sympathy of God encircling the needy and the hurting.  The head was now bowed with a contrite countenance, as if to say, “I understand your travail.”  Thorvaldsen and his friend believed that some greater power breathed meaning into his ruined statue.  They said, “This was no defeated Christ, this was a compassionate savior."

            This idea of Jesus being our great and compassionate savior was one of the truths that the early Christians preached wherever they went.  In the book of Philippians, there is a passage that is written in a Greek poetic style.  Scholars believe it was one of the early songs sung by the church.  Consider these words about Jesus: “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.  And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!  Therefore, God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”  (Philippians 2:6-11 NIV)

            For the past several weeks we have asked: Who has authority? Who sits on the throne? The answer to this is Jesus.  As the creator of the universe, as God of everything, it is a no-brainer to say that Jesus is the master of all things.  While these truths are undeniable, we live in a culture that struggles to balance God’s love and authority.  There is a peace and security that comes with living God’s way.  God knows what is best for each of us.  He knows the human heart and what we need.  Jesus taught that life is found when we surrender to Him.  When we seek to live outside of God’s authority, we also live outside of God’s mercy and sustaining grace.  As the early Christians balanced the authority and power of God with His grace, love, and mercy, so should we.  Keep looking up!