Inside the Pantheon at the tomb of the famours artist Raphael is The Madonna del Sasso, by Lorenzetto, a student of Raphael. Photo taken in 2011 by Martha Wiggins.
“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” Matthew 5:4-6
“Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like unto thine.” I often pray this as part of my prayer routine and as an affirmation throughout the day. It sounds really sweet and simple, but is it really?
When we ask Jesus to help us, to guide us, to teach us, to make us like Him, do we really understand all that it entails? It isn’t easy to become meek and humble. We innately know this or we wouldn’t be seeking His help. The rub is in ‘how’ He will make us meek and humble, or ‘how’ He will help us to be like Him in any character trait we might long for.
When we seek His help, we acknowledge that the work is not only ours, but also His to complete in us. It will be a cooperative effort. We must be willing to be chiseled by the Master Potter. He will chip away all that is unnecessary through trial and error, mistakes, and eventually successes on our part.
As we go through His sculpting of our character, we will become more and more aware of our faults. The closer we get to the goal the more glaring the remaining faults to be chiseled away become. The closer we get to the goal the more delicate, yet painful, the chiseling becomes. Failures in our character, which we might not have even noticed or felt remorse for prior to chiseling, become as a heavy weight on our soul. Rather than how far we have come, we only see how much is still to be accomplished in us. This means the process is working. The fine detail work has begun, and the polished completion is at hand.
The struggle to remove those unwanted character flaws is a bumpy ride, to say the least. However, with Jesus in the seat beside us, we can call upon His strength, His courage, His patience and perseverance. It is well worth the bumpy ride.
So, as we begin this new year, let us pray, “Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like unto thine.” Just let us also be prepared to hold on tight to all that is Him.
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