Whittling and Chiseling: Life is Found in the Mundane

Zack Eswine, Pastor of a church in St. Louis, MO stated, “It is easy to do a great thing for God so long as greatness does not require interior humility, practical love for the people right in front of us, or submission to the presence of Jesus to the place we already are.” How right he is. There is a longing in each of us to matter and to do things that matter. We have been molded and fashioned by a culture that pleads that things that matter are visible, leading to fame, personal glory, accolades, wealth and power. 

The non-visible, which is most of our daily lives, then, are non-mattering?

Is that true? Is that what we believe to be so as image bearers of the Most High God?

Since the Garden of Eden, the longing for VISIBLY stirs and beckons. Longings for fame, personal glory, power and accolades draw at the heart of every human in some form or fashion.  

In essence, our human nature is drawn toward being and doing what draws attention, what gives us praise, admiration, recognition, fame and glory. We tend toward being and doing what is noticed and praised by those around us and our social setting.

This has been our bent ever since Eve bit into the apple. 

What about doing the little, the mundane, the ordinary, the INVISIBLE with the same gusto that we put into VISIBLE matters? What could that look like? 

First, we can take a look at the life of Jesus. The first thirty years of his life were mundane and hum-drum of life for a boy growing up in a Jewish family in Nazareth. There was nothing glamorous, or elegant, nothing noteworthy about Jesus’ existence. But imagine the lessons that were wrapped up in those days that seemed irrelevant and were unassuming as he learned his family craft as a carpenter. Whether whittling wood or chiseling stone to build, he worked with his hands and with people. 

I imagine in those days of apprenticing he gained a great deal of patience as whittling and chiseling by hand took time. He honed his craft, visioning the potential in a tree trunk or a boulder, and then carrying out the vision. It brings to mind Philippians 1:6, “And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.” (NLT) Just as Jesus had a vision for a chair, he saw what it could be, and got to work making the vision become a reality. And over time the vision came about. 

You and are, are just like the chair. Created with Jesus’ vision for our lives in mind. The work has already begun, and he will see to it that he carries it through and completes it. Jesus doesn’t leave things undone. At the proper time all things will be set in order, completed, and fulfilled in Him. 

The meticulous nature, the art, the science, the craft of making a chair takes time, patience, knowledge and skill and yet how easily the impressive nature of the work goes unnoticed. It is the commonplace, the routine parts of life we tend to devalue or ignore yet hold mountains of value within them. 

Another example, as a mom, I am the quintessential taxi driver, chef, maid and launderer. The mundane tasks of school pick up and activities drop offs can at times get old and tiresome. Yet, what I have come to notice is that those fifteen minutes of car time with our girls are the most fruitful, information filled moments of the entire day. These mundane, regular and repetitive moments are how I demonstrate a servant’s heart, faithfulness and unconditional love to my family. 

As I embrace the monotone moments of this life, the daily chiseling and whittling, the more these moments shape my character. Whether scrubbing dishes, baking pumpkin chocolate chip muffins (neighborhood kids favorites) and sweeping the floor to collect the dirt and sand from the hundreds of trips kids have made in and out of the house. Whatever the moment, whatever the task, it is not too small though it goes unnoticed. For every task small or great, Jesus uses it as he carries his work in me to completion. 

What it all comes down to is glory. Recognition, the spotlight, hope of making a splash and what is true of these is that they are all a process of pursuing after our own glory. The mundane tasks that keep the family running like a well-oiled machine pass by under the radar, because well, that is what they are intended to do. It is a struggle between doing the VISIBLE and great for recognition and the INVISIBLE  and mundane for no recognition. However, the INVISIBLE and mundane to the world is instead a VISIBLE training ground to God. 

2 Corinthians 3:16-18 says, “ But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.”

As we turn to the Lord, and look to Jesus as our guide, our veil is removed. That means that we are free from having to work hard to earn our place in heaven. Free from earning our way, doing something grand enough to get God’s attention. We already have the attention of the God of the universe. All he wants is for us to recognize that the veil has been removed, there is nothing separating us from him. He wants us to experience the freedom found in life with him. With the veil gone, we bear his image, we reflect him, and daily, through the unnoticed tasks of this life we are being molded into his glorious image. 

As we become aware of this we understand that the chiseling, whittling, washing, scrubbing, taxiing, and sweeping are outlets for us to reflect the glory of the Lord. We shift from glory seeking for ourselves and the approval of the world to seeking glory for the Lord of Lords and King of Kings. Everything becomes filled with purpose beyond visibility.

Whatever mundane, ordinary, seemingly glory-less tasks you’ve yet to do today, may you lean into the moment. Reflect Jesus, the carpenter apprentice, whittler and chiseler, in your tasks. Allow the tasks before you to teach you about the character and heart of Jesus, Son of God, who quietly worked unnoticed, unhurried, and insignificant for thirty years. I leave you with one final thought, if it was good enough for Jesus, it is good enough for us. Let’s get chiseling.