Imagine that you're a student in an art class. You and dozens of classmates are learning from a master painter. One day your teacher displays a painting of his own. It's an incredible work of art, and he wants each of you to copy it.
You're about to begin working when you turn to look at the person next to you. You're surprised to note that he has a larger brush than you and a different kind of canvas. You look around at the rest of the class. Some students have acrylic paint, others watercolor, still others oil--- and everyone is using different colors. Though you all have the same assignment, you each have completely different materials. This frustrates you. Some student have materials you would prefer for yourself. Why should they get them?
You're not the only student to notice the disparity. A hand goes up on your left. A girl with only a ragged brush and three pale shades of blue on her palette is noticeably agitated. " This isn't fair," she tells the teacher. " How do you expect me to duplicate your painting when the people around me have so many more colors to choose from?"
The teacher smiles. " Don't worry about the other students, " he says. "I've carefully chosen brushes and paints for each of you. Trust me. You have what you need to complete the assignment. Remember, your goal is not to create a painting that mirrors the person next to you, but to do your best with the materials I've given you to replicate my painting."
by Joshua Harris
In this metaphor, God is the master painter and we're the students. He had set the same goal for us all, which is to live a life he did. And, each one of us are given different talents, opportunity, strength and even weakness. Not one of us are made the same. Living in this real world, the spirit to compete lies within us in order to survive. That is why, we often like to compare the things we own with the thing others have. We always see that people have more than we do.
But in truth, God has given us everything we need to glorify Him.
2 comments:
i see you've started reading the book i gave you a few years ago....
i've read a thousand times..haha..still reading it..
every single time i read also get to learn something new...good book indeed! arigato!!
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