From Mess to Masterpiece
From Mess to Masterpiece
“We are masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” (Ephesians 2:10 NLT).
Have you ever introduced yourself as a a masterpiece of fine art? I’m guessing probably not yet Ephesians 2:10 calls us “God’s masterpiece.” Do you realize what that means? It means that when God created you, He created a masterpiece. It means you are a work of art that is one of a kind, custom designed, and tailor-made by the Master’s hand! Often when we look at ourselves, we don’t see a masterpiece at all. Instead our view is distorted by lenses that magnify every little flaw, blemish, and imperfection like a flashing neon sign demands our attention.
Consider this scenario. Imagine yourself standing with an artist before his masterpiece, would you point out all the things you don’t like about it, what he could have done differently to make it better or brazenly take a brush to alter his work? Probably not. However, don’t we do the same thing when we scoff at our bodies in front of our Maker?
The prophet Isaiah says it this way, “Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘You did not make me’? Can the pot say to the potter, ‘You know nothing?’” (Isaiah 29:16 NIV) Ouch! I don’t know about you, but I never thought of my sharp critiques of my body as harsh criticism of my Creator.
Even though you may not appreciate yourself as fine art and you may feel like you should just be tossed in the trash, it doesn’t make you, God’s creation, any less valuable! 2 Corinthians 3:5 says, “Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God”(NASB)[i]. A masterpiece is still a masterpiece no matter where it is…even if it’s in the trash bin.
The truth about who you are is beautifully described by God in Psalm 139:
He knows when I sit and when I rise (2)
He is familiar with all my ways (3)
He is with me guiding me and holding me fast (10)
He created my inmost being (13)
He knit me together in my mother’s womb (13)
His works are fearfully and wonderfully made (14)
He saw my unformed body when I was made in the secret place (15-16)
He searches me and knows my heart (23)
He leads me in the way everlasting (24)
God knows you. He knows your thoughts and actions. He created you, designed you, and you’re breathtaking. He knew you from the beginning, inside and out. In fact, God loves you so much, He sent His Son to die on the cross for you!
Take a minute and soak in the truth that even if you did nothing to change yourself, you are enough just the way you are. If you ever begin to doubt how much God loves you or how pleased He is with you as His creation, take off those old lenses and remind yourself of how God sees you through the lens of Psalm 139.
This blog also posted on crosswalk.com
[i] Holy Bible: New American Standard (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1960, 1995).