In the Letter to the Ephesians, Paul says, “For it is by grace you have been saved,
through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by
works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ
Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians
2:8-10)
Mark Roberts of the Fuller DePree Institute notes on June 18 that the “Greek word [translated handiwork] is poiema,
related to the verb poieo (to make),
had a broad range of meaning in Greek, referring to many things made by a
creative agent, usually a human being.” Roberts states that in other
translations the word is variously translated as “accomplishment” (CEB),
“workmanship” (ESV, KJV), or “masterpiece” (NLT). I like the translation as
‘masterpiece’. To me that means that God is working on something extra special,
not just an everyday piece of work.
Roberts goes on to say, “When we respond to God’s grace
through faith, not only do we receive assurance of our future salvation, but we
are also remade by God’s creative power.
We become new people, even though we continue to live in our old bodies. In
this sense, we are God’s handiwork,
accomplishment, workmanship, or masterpiece…God doesn’t make damaged goods
or mediocre products. Whatever God makes could, in a real sense, be called a
masterpiece.”
How does that idea make you feel? It humbles me. Too often I
don’t feel like a ‘masterpiece’ at all. I am very good at identifying the
traits I have that are ‘bad’ or at least not very ‘Christian’.
Roberts says we all ask ourselves, “How could I possibly be
God’s masterpiece?” Then he responds, “your status as a masterpiece is true,
not because of how healthy you are, how accomplished you are, or how moral you
are. You are a masterpiece because of
what God has done in your life by his grace. You have been newly and
wonderfully created through Christ, so that you might live in relationship with
God and for his glory. This is God’s work in you.”
It is God working in me and in you that makes us the
masterpiece. It is not what we are doing or not doing. God's grace is what makes and remakes us again and again
When I first read this meditation, I thought of the work
that art restorers do, and how they are now using technology like ‘multi-spectral
imaging’ to see the various layers of art beneath what we see as the finished masterpiece. They have discovered that, even under something as famous as Mona Lisa, there are other images. Da
Vinci started out with one idea and then modified it as he went along.
I ponder whether my actions and reactions to God at work in
my life make God readjust how the finished masterpiece will look. The basic
design is there. God’s call and love and
grace are unchanging. I, however, might make a mistake or ‘spill paint’
resulting in a reworking of something in the final piece.
God’s Grace ultimately will triumph and I will be the
masterpiece God already sees. That is a beautiful thought. Nothing I can do will really ruin the beautiful creation God is making.
Does it change anything to think that God is making you a
‘masterpiece’?
Will you look at yourself differently?Next week, we'll continue exploring this topic.
