One of the greatest works of art ever produced is Michelangelo’s sculpture of young David. It stands 14 feet, 3 inches tall (not counting the base) and was carved out of pure marble. Michelangelo labored for three years to make this statue. It was unveiled in 1501 and is on display in Florence, Italy.
The figure is of a young David just before he kills Goliath with his sling. He is griping a stone in his right hand, and a sling is draped over his left shoulder. For the last three hundred and fifty years, tens of thousands of people have come to admire the life-like detail and near perfection of this artwork.
Michelangelo’s sculpture of young David is even more amazing because of where he got the marble.
That giant slab of marble originally belonged to Agostino di Duccio, another sculptor. Many years earlier he attempted to make a statue out of that marble, but failed. His lack of skill caused him to ruin that immense block of valuable marble so he threw it away. For forty years it lay in a back yard, partially hidden among other trash, and it became blackened with age by the weather.
That marred piece of marble lay there until the day that master-artist Michelangelo noticed its potential. When his skilled hands went to work on that apparently worthless hunk of marble, the rest, as they say, is history. Michelangelo took a discarded piece of rock and turned it into one of the greatest marvels of the art world.
Michelangelo is not the only one who can make something beautiful out of something worthless. The life of the Apostle Paul is an excellent example. When we first meet Paul in the Bible he is hunting down Christians, having them arrested, and taking part in their deaths (see Acts 8:3). Not only that, but Paul admitted that he was “…a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor….” (1 Timothy 1:13). Before he met Jesus, Paul was nothing more than a ruined piece of humanity.
Maybe there are times you feel used up and worthless, too. All is not lost.
If you will place yourself in the Master’s hands, He can make something valuable out of your wrecked and ruined life.
As Paul put it, “the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus. It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen” (1 Timothy 1:14–17).
If you feel like your life has no meaning, then you are just the kind of person that Jesus is looking for: “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (Mark 2:17). Jesus can make you a new person if you will give your life to Him.
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