I was looking for some pictures of Jesus, when I ran across this one and others similar to it. It started me thinking and meditating, and the result of that is what was originally a blog, and is now a discipleship article here....

     Joseph's profession was a carpenter, and he would have taught Jesus all the tips and tricks of the trade. I thought about the trade of carpentry. In my thoughts, I realized that the goal of carpenters is to take rough, unworked wood and shape and mold it into a cohesive form that then appears as a beautiful and unique craftsmanship.
    He takes the rough wood, cuts or lathes it into the correct shape by the use of cutting tools, then smooths and shapes it by the use of sandpaper and other tools. In other words, the carpenter uses sharpt instruments to cut the piece of wood into the desired shape, and then uses abrasion to smooth and shape the wood. But he's not finished there. He is not desirous to leave the wood alone. So he takes that uniquely shaped piece of wood (in the old days, even two products turned out on an old fashioned wood lathe would be slightly different - no two pieces were exactly alike, though they might look it) and combines it with others to make a beatiful and unique whole unit.
    Consider a dresser drawer, for example. Some of the pieces of wood are used to hold the rest of the project up off the ground. Some are used as drawers to hold or contain objects. Some are used to dress the unit in beautiful woods, and some are the unfinished pieces that are unseen that make up the rest of the piece. The leg never asks to be a drawer, and vice versa. They work together.
    But the carpenter is still not finished. For those pieces are are visable, he then stains them with his own chosen brand of stain, then lovingly adds a finished coat of wax or polish on to help protect the wood from bumps and damage. Then, he gives the piece a place in his showroom, put on display for all to see.
    In my mind, the perfect occupation for Jesus to learn at an early age would have been carpentry. It would have served Jesus throughout his ministry and in his last hours. If you look at the physical, earthly story I've told, and add the spiritual elements, Jesus works on us in the same way. He shapes us and sands the burrs out of us with abrasion by letting us loose to the scrutiny of the world and our families....
    He stains those of us who are truly saved with His own blood, shed for us at Calvary. And then He gives us a polish when we serve God by granting eternal rewards that help us cope through this lost and dying world and keep us from damage as we focus on our true home... He makes us His showpiece, His workmanship, and He puts us together as a unit in a church to be the various parts that make up the whole, working together to further the Kingdom of God.

Things to think on...