'The goddess

The goddess

In the early days of Grecian art, a prize was offered for the best statue of one of the goddesses. A youth in the country who loved this goddess, set to work to compete for the prize. But he lacked the artist's gift and experience, and his statue was crude and clumsy, far from beautiful. It seemed to have no chance at all for winning the prize.

But the goddess, so the heathen legend runs, knowing of the sincere devotion of this youth to her and his love for her, when the time came for the display of the statues in the competition, entered herself into the crude stone, and at once it glowed with divine beauty, by far the most beautiful of all the statues, winning the prize.

Just so, we are called to show the world the beauty of Christ, to reproduce the glory of His life, not in cold marble — but in Christian character, in Christian love, in Christian service. In our weakness and faultiness it may seem to us that we cannot do anything, that our life and work are unworthy of the holy name we bear.

Our best seems most unlovely, crude, faulty, imperfect. But if we truly love Christ, if we truly believe on Him, and if at His command we strive to do that which seems impossible — then Christ Himself, knowing our love, and seeing our striving, will enter into our life and fill it with Himself. Then our poor efforts will become radiant and divine in their beauty.

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