We all long for someone to look up to. It’s tempting to put someone on a pedestal and make them a model of flawless faith. But in this world, there are no marble saints.
I once read an illustration that brought this home. Author Harold Sala tells of two sets of statues depicting Jesus and the disciples, both designed by the same sculptor. One is in a museum; the other, in a cathedral. One is made of clay; the other is made of marble. The difference in appearance is striking. “The figures in the museum are beautiful, but nothing compared with the ones you will find in the cathedral. The ones in the museum are gray and discolored; the ones in the cathedral, pure white.”
He goes on,
I don’t usually bother to look for a hidden moral truth whenever I visit a museum, but when I compared the brilliant marble figures of Christ and the apostles with the ones made of clay, I couldn’t help but ponder how the book of Hebrews speaks of the church on earth and the one in the heavens. One is made of clay and the other, having had the dross and clay removed, is made with the purity of marble.
… We can hardly expect saints to be made of marble. They are made of clay, which includes their hands and feet. Eventually, however, having stood the test of time, they find their marble counterpart in heaven.1
Here on earth, none of us is perfect. Even the most mature and saintly person you can think of has flaws. From a distance, you might not notice, but get close enough and you’ll see imperfections. That’s because we’re clay jars, fragile and frail, not marble saints, perfect and pristine.
But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.
— 2 Corinthians 4:7 (ESV)
One day, we will radiate perfection. And the goal is to grow a little closer each day.
How do we get there?
By grace alone.
grace that taught my heart to fear
Honestly, it’s unfathomable that God allows us to carry things so dear to Him—His glory, His power, His Holy Spirit, His message to a lost and dying world—knowing that we will at times make mistakes, do it wrong, take the credit, and even completely miss the mark on occasion. He uses us on a Monday knowing we’ll blow it on Tuesday. He knows how imperfect and self-centered we can be and yet He entrusts the greatness of heaven to His beloved ones.
— Susie Larson
Ever since Bible times, God has entrusted His work to flawed and failing people. A brief study of Bible characters reveals that they were far from spotless. Abraham and Isaac both lied to save themselves (Genesis 12:10–13, 20:1–3, 26:6–7). Moses let his anger overtake him and disobeyed God’s command (Numbers 20:10–13). And the list goes on. The people in the Bible were more like us than we might realize.
The same is true today. When it comes to modern-day believers we hold up as heroes, seeing their flaws reminds us that we all need God’s grace as we grow into sainthood. Our shared need for grace bridges the gap between us and those we look up to.
grace my fears relieved
One of the great truths of Scripture is that when God looks at us, He does not see us for what we are, but for what we can become, as He works in our lives. He is in the business of taking weak, insignificant people, and transforming them by His presence in their lives. He begins with us where we are, as we are. He knows our weaknesses, failures, discouragements, doubts, and inadequacies, but He does not say, ‘You get rid of those, and then I can use you.’ Rather, He comes to us in our weakness with the promise of His presence that will transform our inadequacy into His strength.
— Gary Inrig
By God’s grace, who we are today does not define who we are destined to become, nor does it restrict us to who we will remain. Our flaws don’t have to hold us back from following God’s call. As we welcome His work in our lives, letting Him chisel away our imperfections piece by piece, He will use them to showcase His power to transform weakness into strength.
grace has brought me safe this far
God rejects the prideful success but receives the humbled failure.
— Charlie Peacock
Part of authentic faith in God’s saving grace means acknowledging our failures, but not letting them keep us from getting up and trying again. His grace that saves is the same grace that stays with us all our lives, keeping us close to His side.
It’s easy to reject your need for grace. I know I would rather give it than receive it. But while it can be humbling to admit your need for grace, it’s also necessary, because it’s the only way you’ll be able to receive it.
grace will lead me home
Here’s my broken pieces / All my incompleteness / Take this shattered heart /
And make a work of art / Won’t You show me, Jesus / What Your love can do /
Like a stained glass window / I wanna feel Your light shine through
— Michael Cochren, Jeff Pardo, and Tony Wood, “Stained Glass Window”
We accept God’s grace by resting in His embrace. He longs to enfold us in His arms of grace—but will we let Him? Will we admit our flaws and let His light shine through them?
Will we let His grace lead us all the way home?
When the flaws and failures fall away, only what’s true and lovely will remain—every stroke shaped by the tender hands of grace.
So take courage, humble jar of clay—one day, you will be a marble saint.
- Harold Sala, Profiles in Faith (Uhrichsville, Ohio: Barbour Publishing, 2003), 160–161. ↩︎
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