God’s Masterpiece

God’s Masterpiece

We are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. –Ephesians 2:10

A masterpiece. Me? I don’t think so. At least it’s hard for me to see. All it takes is a glance in the mirror, a step on the scale, a few minutes of flipping through a magazine, for my self-image to nose-dive and my self-confidence to be shaken. Can you relate? Do you sometimes struggle with the way God has made you—the shape or size of your body, the personality you have, the abilities you were given? It’s easy to allow the way we look to define who we are, but Paul says we are God’s masterpiece. What does he mean?

When I think of a masterpiece, my first thought, and perhaps yours too, is great works of art by Da Vinci or Rembrandt or Van Gogh, great sculptors and painters who created the breathtaking works of art we gaze at in wonder. But I don’t think this is the kind of masterpiece Paul had in mind, because God is not making us into his masterpiece simply so we can look good or even so we can be good. His purpose in making us a masterpiece is so that we can do good. Rather than Picasso or Monet, think instead of Stradivari. Antonio Stradivari made about 1,100 violins, harps, guitars, violas, and cellos during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Each Stradivarius is a treasured masterpiece unsurpassed in sound. It is not made to sit on a shelf to be admired for its beauty, but to be played—to be put in the hands of a master musician to create beautiful music.

You are a masterpiece, not like the Mona Lisa, which hangs in a museum behind bulletproof glass, beyond the potentially damaging touch of dirty hands. You are like a Stradivarius violin, whose true beauty and value is seen and experienced in its usefulness—especially when it is used by a master. Being used by the master in this hurting world is thrilling. The reason it feels so good to offer food to those who are hungry, a coat to those who are cold, companionship to those who are lonely, a home to a child who is alone, is because this is what you were made for. This is the beauty of the Master Jesus using your life.

Master Designer, I’ve wasted too much time and energy looking in the mirror agonizing over my own reflection instead of feeling the pain of a hurting world around me and doing something about it. Make me a masterpiece that displays your beauty and demonstrates your love.

DIGGING DEEPER