Today i was struck with the story of David. Not the Biblical one… well not at first. The marble one.
If you read about Michelangelo’s famous statue, David, you will find a sordid history. When the Cathedral of Florence commissioned it, they could never have imagined what would unfold from there. They hired the best sculpture they could find, a proven artist, and the work began.
A chip here. A drill there. Even a hole gouged in the middle between the legs…. and then nothing.
The artist stopped working on it. Some say because the marble was too difficult to work with, others posit other reasons. The church hired another artist who tried to complete the work but failed. Again, another artist was hired. He too failed.
The 18-foot slab of marble stood alone and neglected in the cathedral yard for 25 years. Abandoned by three previous artisans, it bore the scars of their failed attempts to create beauty. It sat alone, in brokenness.
Time and weather took its toll, diminishing the marble in both quality and stature.
Finally the cathedral, tired of the giant piece of marble that sat useless for decades, shopped the project around to a slew of new master craftsmen. None would touch it, not even Da Vinci himself. Only in a young, yet unproven sculptor, did they find their savior.
Michelangelo acquired the piece of marble at the age of 26. None could have imagined the lasting impression this piece of marble was to have.
First, Michelangelo built a shed around it. Then he moved in. Before he ever touched it with a mallet or chisel, he chose to live with his work. For three years he struggled with the broken piece of marble. Working around its faults to slowly, but surely, bring forth the image of a man after God’s own heart, David.
Even today, one can still see the flaws in the statue Michelangelo himself touch over 500 years ago. One can still see the imperfections in the marble. one can still see the drill holes, cracks, and problems created by the craftsmen who tried and failed to bring life from the marble.
This is an amazing image of what God did in David’s own life as well as what Christ still does in our lives. Out of our brokenness, He brings beauty… art. And only out of our brokenness can He sculpt us into a magnificent creation.
So I am seeing myself today as something of a David… carrying my own chip-marks, drill holes, and brokenness…. but out of it seeing the beauty of God’s own handiwork in the story of my life.