Sitting in front of the perfect stone, the sculptor begins his work, taking the image that is in his mind and slowly, with carefully calculated taps more than giant blows, what he sees in his mind becomes reality.

Every person has an image of God. The image is either shaped by our life experiences — both good and bad — or we conform our image of God to that which God, himself, has told us is reality in the Bible. Almost without exception, when we let our life experiences shape our image of God, we sculpt a reluctant God, one who is busy, disappointed and generally not favorably disposed toward us. This image couldn’t be further from the truth.

One of the most important characteristics of God is his deep and genuine desire to be with us. That’s why Jesus told people, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” He actually wants to be with us. He’s not holding back…he’s not too busy…and my favorite: He isn’t shaking his head in disappointment because my performance isn’t measuring up. He’s the place of rest and peace.

This Thanksgiving, my prayer for you is you might see yourself as a child and Jesus, down on one knee, with his arms open wide, inviting you into his big hug, eyes full of love and a warm smile on his face.

On the adventure with you,
Kirk