Shaped for a PurposeSample

God’s design template for your life

The first thing a surfboard shaper does when they begin to shape a surfboard by hand is to reach for their templates.

The dictionary describes a template as “a starting point – a piece of material used as a pattern for a shaping process”.

A shaper’s template is their series of pre-cut designs, lines, curves, and measurements that have proven true over time.  

The shaper lays the basic template over the foam blank and then marks it with a pencil. Their lines in the foam confirm the intended design. With the design lines laid out, they begin to shave away the rough edges – and the creation of something beautiful begins.

In an industrial world of machine shapes, there is something profoundly beautiful and mysteriously magical about a hand-shaped surfboard. When the board is hand-shaped, the wisdom, experience, and nuance of the skilled shaper soak into the board, and the finished product bears the unmistakable mark of its creator. The design predetermines how the board will ride the wave. 

God, our Master Shaper, has a tried and tested template for our lives, and it’s a banger. The Message puts it like this:

“God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son.”

Our design template is Jesus, the One who made it all. 

Take a few moments to consider that amazing nugget of information. Our Master Shaper has the wisdom of eternity and the perfection of His Son as His template. His knowledge of you is on the molecular level. His intention is to personally hand shape you for a full and adventurous life. 

How encouraging is THAT?