Now you may be thinking, “Well, I try to be but I’m not always successful.” I would then follow up that thought with, “What gets in the way of being your best self?”
The well-known Renaissance artist Michelangelo was once asked how he managed to create amazing sculptures – such as “David?” His response was fascinating. He said that he imagined that statue already inside the block of marble with which he was going to work. Then he would chip away the excess to reveal what had always been there. To be able to see ahead of time the finished statue in the block of untouched material takes quite an eye or artistic ability.
I wonder if that isn’t how God sees us. Before we were even born, God saw the finished work of art. In that crying baby, that rebellious teenager, or that wandering adult. The key, of course, is that, as the artist, God needs to chip away the excess to reveal who He has designed us to be. But when He starts chipping, we often resist, letting God know that we don’t need His help. But when we do that, we remain that unfinished block.
Are you your best self? If you are not, know that you could be. What are the excesses in your life that need to be chipped away? What things are keeping you from becoming all that God called you to be? Greed? Jealousy? Anger? A determination to do whatever you want, when you want? The trappings of this world?
I encourage you to take inventory of your life; determine if you are a hunk of marble, a finished statue, or somewhere in between. Do you want to be a beautiful work of art – being all that you were designed to be? Put yourself in the hands of our loving Creator, trust Him, and become your best self.