He is Creator.

He is a carpenter.

He spoke the world into existence. “Let there be light.” And there was light. He is the Word. (John 1:1-5.) His words are so powerful that when the Word speaks the word, things change. Nature obeys. Hell trembles. Man chooses.

He speaks and things happen. The seas divide. Land appears. Mountains. Valleys. Canyons. Rivers. Lakes. Streams. Deer. Eagles. Salmon. Humpbacks. Lions . . . Man. Woman.

All because He, the Word, spoke.

“We never heard anyone speak like Him.” That’s what the people said. That’s what Caiphus’s emissaries said.

His words confounded earth’s wise ones. They comforted the downtrodden. Pierced the hearts of the proud. Broke the sin-weary. Life or death, your choice.

The Word. The Way. The Truth. The Life.

He’s God. He’s Creator. He’s the Word. Not a word, THE Word.

And He’s a carpenter.

You can’t speak a bookshelf into existence. You have to build it.

You imagine it first. You can see it. Envision it. It’s already in the room with the books on it, a few decorative items, and a plant. Stained to the perfect hue, it’s completed … and you haven’t cut the first piece of wood yet.

Composers understand this. I do. I have yet to hear my first orchestral composition performed from start to finish. But oh, I’ve heard it! I’ve heard every accelerando and every diminuendo. I’ve heard the quietest moments and the full orchestra’s crash. I’ve heard every musical color and have felt every ensuing emotion. I haven’t heard it at all, but oh, I’ve heard it!

The great composer Maurice Ravel was cornered at a party and asked about a composition by the man who commissioned it. “Oh, it’s finished!” “So, when can I see it?” Ravel replied, “As soon as I put it down on paper.” The first note had not been penned on the manuscript, but the composition was complete. The musicians had not yet played, but the music had already filled the senses of the musical creator.

So, the carpenter envisions the bookshelf standing in the corner of the room, stately, functional, and complete. Then he measures the corner and draws the bookcase according to its appropriate dimensions.

He cuts down a tree. He cuts up the tree. He cuts the boards from the wood. He firms every piece. He sands them with course sandpaper to remove the crud and splinters. He measures each piece again. Then, with hammer, nails, drill, screws, level, and more, he puts it together. He anchors it securely to the wall. He adds all of the finishing touches, not halting his labor until he looks back and says to himself, “Perfect.”

With a proud sense of completion, he puts the first book on the middle shelf and he stands back and admires the work of his hands. And guess what? It looks just like it did in his mind’s eyes before the tree was cut down. It is his vision, but now, after the skilled labor of his hands, he can touch what he saw before it ever existed.

Jesus – Creator and Carpenter. Some things He speaks into existence. But others, He envisions the final product and He works diligently with His skilled hands until it stands complete, perfect, and fully functional for the purpose that He created it.

He will cut. He will saw. He will trim. He will even sand with the coarsest of sandpaper. He will hammer. He will drill. And He will securely anchor us to His wall.

Yes, I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will complete it (Philippians 1:6).

He’s a good carpenter. And a Potter, too!

“Can I not do with you as the potter does? As clay is in the potter’s hands, so are you in My hands” (Jeremiah 18:6).

Authored by Dr. Tom Grassano in 2003