Saturday, September 11, 2010

WE ARE GOD’S MASTERPIECE

“For we are God’s 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
~~~~~~

A masterpiece is a person's greatest piece of work. That creation which over time is acclaimed by his peers as the artist’s or craftsman’s very best work. However, when we are talking about God’s masterpiece it’s not something that can be framed – performed or displayed on a pedestal.

God’s creation is all around us – above us and beneath us. It is both physical and spiritual – temporal and eternal. How can we ever determine which is His greatest piece of work – His masterpiece? Where should we even begin? Is it a mountain range – a water falls – a rain forest – a flower – a precious gem or mineral – sunsets or the northern lights? Could it be one of the countless heavenly bodies He has flung into endless space? Could it be heaven - one of the holy angels or heavenly beings which worship Him continually? No, none of these are His greatest work!

Left purely to human insight, we would have never recognized God’s greatest piece of work. But one of His “peers,” the Holy Spirit, revealed the secret - born again believers are God’s masterpiece. Nothing in all of creation comes close to what He accomplished when He created us anew in Christ Jesus. Paul received this divine revelation and writes, Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

Even before God created this world, He planned specific good things for us to do. But by sinning we died spiritually, making it impossible for us to carry out what He had in mind. But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, .... He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. That act of grace in the life of the believer is God’s greatest piece of work, making us God’s masterpiece!!

3 comments:

Mark Bowman said...

Blessings Iver and Donna,
It's truly amazing the way God looks at us through Christ. So much of the time I feel totally unworthy of what He has done for me. Thanks be to God for creating you both as masterpieces, unique and special.
Mark and Evelyn

Steve Goodmon said...

Dear Iver & Donna,
This message was, like all your work, truly a
MASTERPIECE! I have wanted for the longest
time to leave a note and thank you for this
beautiful way of teaching the WORD and blessing us readers with a devotion from HIM. So I'm at long last saying its so nice to be in touch. You are both such a blessing to the Body of Christ and we look forward to seeing you face to face one of these days.
Blessings, Steve & Fran

Jim Walter said...

God bless you two -- This is a rich statement of the worth and value of human beings. The sanctity of life is being eroded. Your blog is a reminder that we are His masterpiece.