Have you ever thought about how a sculptor creates a sculpture?

Most of these guys have an idea in their head, and then they go get a block of marble. “Whatever I’m seeing in my head,” they say, “I’m going to put it in this block of marble.”

But Michelangelo said, “Not me.” He would sit in a chair and look at a block of marble for weeks—sometimes even months—at a time, until he saw what was trapped inside the marble.

“Every block of stone has a statue inside it,” said Michelangelo, “and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it.” He chipped around and discovered the statue inside—and then he freed David from the block of stone.

That’s my goal with any of my speaking and writing and relationships: to help people bust free from that rigid block of stone.

I want you to be free to unlock the treasure you have inside of you, so that people can meet the real you—not the imprisoned one who says, “Let’s make sure we follow all the these extra rules and regulations.” Or, “Let’s make sure we have all the right behaviors and look good doing it.”

Ultimately, I want your heart to desire a real relationship with God.

The idea of “freeing the David” inside of me has been crucial in my own life. What did I need to chip away to free the real person who was inside me, the person God saw? My whole life, I’d felt like He was judging me for all the things I was doing or not doing, but what I didn’t realize was that He had already judged Christ for every sin I ever committed. “I punished Christ for everything,” God said. “And if I punished Him for everything, there’s nothing left for you.”

Only then did I begin to understand that my job was to receive that gift, get on with my life, and bring God’s true love, mercy, and forgiveness to the world.

Are you ready to free your David?

Adapted from Love God Hate Church: Moving Past the Dos and Don’ts. Learn more at lovegodhatechurch.net.