In the church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva, not too far from the Vatican, there is a statue by Michelangelo, Christ the Redeemer. What you may not know is that this is the second statue the artist carved to fulfill his commission.
The first statue developed a flaw. As it was being carved a black vein opened up on the cheek of Christ ruining the work. It was part of the marble and there was no way of getting it out so Michelangelo simply abandoned it and started over.
This happens more than you might think. An artist sets out to crete a work using all his skill and experience, all his talent and ability, and the work goes wrong. Perhaps there is a flaw in the material that degrades the work or perhaps it simply gets to a point where it no longer matches his artistic vision. And so the artist abandons the work and starts over.
But God, the ultimate artist, the ultimate craftsman, doesn’t work that way. When his masterpiece of creation developed a flaw in the form of sin, God did not abandon his creation and start over. Instead He poured Himself into His work, He emptied Himself into His creation, not only to renew it but to teach the work how to renew itself.
And that is what God calls each of us to do, to help Him in the work of perfecting the world. God makes us the brushes in the hands of the divine artist. He does this, not because He needs our help, but because we need the mission. God created us in His own image, He created us to have a transcendent meaning. God created us to have a mission, a purpose in life that goes beyond our short lives here on earth and joins us to eternity. We will only find fulfillment when we accept this invitation to be active missionaries in the service of Christ’s eternal Kingdom.
How do we respond to that invitation?