Finisher
Hebrews 12:2 KJV
(2) Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
We had this great wood shop in high school, and I was fortunate enough to take a woodworking class and learn how to build things from rough cut lumber. We could pretty much make anything we chose, and I ended up making a footstool, a waterbed frame and a red oak cradle. The last one was quite an industrious undertaking– for me anyway. I had come up with this idea for a cradle because of my sister’s recent pregnancy and I chose plans that included raised panels and several turned pins for around the top. There was limited time to take lumber that had no uniform or finished surfaces and produce a functional, smooth, and completed cradle. Although it was close, because there was progress made on it every day, and because I had access to the right tools, the wood that had been sitting in the storage room, because of my idea, was transformed by my hands into a beautiful piece of furniture that has been used by many of my relatives and now sits in our living room.
There was a time when we were just a rough piece of wood lacking uniformity and structure. There was an idea, though, in the mind of the Master to take what we once were and craft something really quite special for a specific need. Much would have to be cut away, drilled and turned. As His plans involved an extended process, He would require daily access to our parts with His special tools and resources in order to complete His project. While it would be the wood that would be presented as a finished work, at no point in the process was the wood responsible for anything other than responding to the touch of the Master’s hand.
It’s His work from concept to finish, and as long as given continual access to our hearts and lives, the only thing impeding His progress will be a lack of response to His presence and His touch. May there be an overwhelming response of worship in our hearts an lives today as the One who is the great Finisher takes what He has authored on another step towards completion.
