THURSDAY JANUARY 30
For we are God’s handiwork,
created in Christ Jesus to do good works. Ephesians 2:10
Faithful to Complete Us: We Are His Masterpiece
Legend has
it that Pablo Picasso was sitting in a Paris café when a bold woman approached
him and asked the artist to draw her portrait. Picasso agreed. Studying her for
a moment, he proceeded to create her image with a single pencil stroke. He
handed the woman the finished piece of art. “It’s perfect!” exclaimed the
woman. “What do I owe you?” Picasso responded, “Five thousand dollars.” The
woman was incredulous: “How can you charge so much for a few seconds of work?”
Picasso replied, “Madame, it took me my entire life.” As believers, we are
God’s masterpiece. We are His creation and the result of a lifetime of work.
This is no easy task. We have learned, in Paul’s letter to the Romans that we
are inherently sinful and cannot fulfill God’s Law on our own. Here, we learn that
although we are deserving of punishment, we are saved by God’s “great love for
us” (v. 4). We were transformed in Christ, made alive even while we were still
dead in sin. God does not despair and give up on us as we stumble in our faith.
Rather, He lifts us up and seats us “with him in the heavenly realms” (v. 6).
We are saved by God’s grace, not by our works. We cannot boast of this for it
is nothing that we have done. We are God’s “handiwork” (v. 10). Other
translations describe us as God’s “masterpiece” or “workmanship.” God has
perfected us through Christ Jesus. He has a plan for us that will take a
lifetime to complete. The God who began a good work in us is faithful to
complete it. We are nurtured by His love and grace. We have an eternal destiny.
We are His most magnificent handiwork.
Taken
from the Word for You Today Devotional
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