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Themes Eternal Values ALMOST FINISHED 1924. Gutzon Borglum. He is an American sculptor. He studies the face of a mountain. The mountain is Mount Rushmore. It towers 6000 feet in the clear blue sky of South Dakota. Borglum raises his binoculars for a closer look. It will do. In fact, it is perfect. Excitement surges though Borglum. He longs to be rich and famous. He can hear the applause and compliments for his completed work. No other sculptor has attempted such an enormous work as this. He will be the first! 1927. Miners. Dynamite. Jackhammers. Four hundred thousand tons of rock are split. They crumble and roll down the mountain side. Four faces take shape. They are chiseled into the almost perpendicular mountain side. From several miles away, Borglum compares the daily results to his pattern. Mistakes require changes. The work continues. Day after day Borglum directs the work. Mistakes cost him time, but the sculpture must be finished. Determination drives him! 1941. One million dollars later the faces are almost finished. There is a big change in plans. Gutzon Borglum dies! He is not able to finish what he started. Borglum is buried in New York, many miles from his mountain of passion. His work was almost finished. He was on the very edge of triumph, but his hopes fell in death. The sculpture was eventually finished but not by Borglum. His son took up his father's binoculars and finished the work. When the applause and recognition came, Gutzon Borglum was not there to receive it 1997. George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt. Former presidents of the United States. Four granite faces stare blankly into the southern horizon. Yes, tourists come. They pay their fee and marvel at the great work. Genius sculptor. Marvelous accomplishment. Gutzon Borglum knows none of this. Compared to where his soul is now, this mountain is of no importance at all. Eternity. Mount Rushmore? Gone! Borglum? His soul is either in Heaven or Hell! Your soul...............? Borglum worked on a mountain for the praise of men. He died before his work was finished.
The Lord Jesus died on Mount Calvary to save sinners from Hell. "The wages of sin is DEATH" (Romans 6:23). He had to die to finish His work of paying for sin and providing salvation. So, "Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures" (1 Corinthians 15:3). He was raised from the dead and is now receiving praise in Heaven. The Lord Jesus finished the work. Nothing more needs to be done. What more is necessary for you to be saved? "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God" (Hebrews 12:2).
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Brian Elliott
