August 7 – Malleable Hearts (2 Corinthians 3:18)

“Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers, and blessed is he who trusts in the Lord.”(Proverbs 16:20)

IN WORD:
The human race from its earthly abode looks up to heaven and assumes that God requires our righteousness. It’s a natural impulse, one that was placed within us in the Garden of Eden. But it has become a futile quest, this righteousness that we seek. We can only find it in Another. It has to be provided for us, and we have to accept it by faith as an act of amazing grace.
We must let go of the impulse to please God with our goodness and embrace what He is really looking for: hearts that can be molded. Our master Artisan is seeking gold that He can hammer into whatever shape He pleases. He desires material that can be melted, formed, pounded, and purified. The righteousness is up to Him. The willingness to conform is up to us.
Whoever gives heed to instruction is a submissive servant of the Creator. He or she has learned that our discipleship is not achievement-focused but form-focused. We are being shaped into the image of the Son, who Himself is the exact image of the invisible God. The blueprint of our creation — drawn up to fit the image of God Himself, according to Genesis 1:26-27 — is now being fulfilled. We thought we’d squandered that priceless calling, but it has been restored. The Image now lives within us. He is conforming us even now.
The hard part of heeding instruction — being a malleable enough material for God to shape — is that it requires a tremendous amount of trust. We don’t like to relinquish that much control. We have our own agenda for what we should look like. But we must give it up. Only he who listens to instruction prospers. He who hardens his soul to God’s work will miss out on the blessing of being shaped like Jesus.

IN DEED:
Do you subject yourself to the mallet of God? Submission to the Artist’s hand is to be our constant pose. The pure image that results is too valuable to miss. Give heed to His instruction. The prosperity that follows is an unearthly treasure.

“O Lord, forgive what I have been, sanctify what I am, and order what I shall be.” -Thomas Wilson-