On Telling The Truth & God’s Masterpieces

You, LORD, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.

—Isaiah 64:8

At a gathering of friends recently, the leader of the group talked about how we are God’s masterpieces and how we’ve been created in Christ.

Then the leader asked one person to come sit in a chair, facing the rest of the group. He said, “This man is a masterpiece—like David and Starry Night, like Monet’s Water Lilies. Why don’t you all tell him how you see that?”

This guy looked like he was going to die of embarrassment. It was so uncomfortable.

But we did it. We talked about his character, and how he made people feel. We told stories about his honesty, his bravery, his commitment to helping people. Tears began to roll down his face. And all our faces. It was one of the holiest moments I’ve been a part of in a long time.

What many people in that circle didn’t know was that it had been the hardest year of his life. Many of us didn’t know that he was feeling so vulnerable and broken down. Those words mattered that day.