“But we all, with unveiled faces, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18, NASB).

Maston was recovering from a severe cardiac insult, aggravated by his heavy alcohol history. The alcohol was now behind him, but it had left a wake of debris that included his inability to drive. I had supported him through his struggle and am his friend. He’s on my daily prayer list for people who need to know Christ. I pray each day that he will love and follow Jesus. He called today and asked if I could take him shopping for groceries and household goods. It was Sunday, and I was off. It made me angry, but I agreed.

One of the neat things about God is the way He knows our hearts, the way He brings light to every little dark corner as He transforms us into His likeness.

My work-life presently is extremely time pressured, like it is for many. Every five minutes brings a new decision, sometimes three at a time. By the time my week has ended, I am wound up like a steel spaghetti ball. I depend on Saturdays and Sundays to untangle my mental wires so I can be ready for the week ahead. The most important thing for me is not that my weekends are empty, but that I plan events with no time pressure. This demand results in a real hardness of my heart toward unplanned events that are thrust into my life, that disrupt my schedule. This is sin in my life, and God is chipping it away as He transforms me into His likeness.

With a sculpture’s chisel and with His sense of humor, God planned for Maston to interrupt my weekend plans with a three-hour intrusion—and at the same time handed me Mark 6:30-42 to prepare for Bible study next week.

You know the story: Jesus sent His disciples out, two by two, to preach, heal and drive out evil spirits. They returned and were reporting their experiences. People were swarming all over Jesus—and He had just heard about the death of His cousin, John the Baptist. Jesus needed a break, needed time to think and pray. So, He asked His disciples to take Him across the lake to a solitary place where He could rest and recover. But when He reached the other side, a large crowd had arrived before Him. Jesus ripped off His weariness, healed the sick, preached all day and fed the 5,000.

I know what God was doing when Maston called. He was chipping away the sin in my life, the sin that told me my schedule was more important than my witness. I did need rest like Jesus needed it when He sought solitude on the other side of the lake. When the world intrudes into our needed rest, we should say, “No,” but not when God intrudes. This weekend I recognized a human need that was coupled with the call of God, so I said, “Yes.” I spent three hours at Dollar Tree and Kroger, shared the love of Christ and watched God chip away another small piece of sin from my life.

Dear Father,
Keep chipping.
Amen