The above picture was painted by one of my daughters. I am the delighted and proud mother of several talented artists. One daughter in particular must paint to relieve stress and quiet her soul after a season of busyness.
Watching her take a blank canvas and deftly apply color to create a picture depicting beauty, depth of feeling and a sense of wonderment is truly inspiring. She seemingly adds a little of this, and some of that, and voila! She has created a masterpiece!
Do you think of yourself as God’s handiwork? I usually do not. Yet, God fearfully and wonderfully knit each of us together in our mothers’ wombs, (Psalm 139:14 ) Just as an artist carefully considers which colors to combine; God also thoughtfully takes talents from His storehouse and doles them out generously to His children.
We are His created masterpieces.
Do you, like I, ever feel the need to demurely reject that title?
Ephesians 2:10 instructs us on how we ought to view ourselves,”we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
Just as I am so awestruck and proud of what my daughters create, God looks at us the same way. Isn’t that fact just mind-blowing? God looks at us with pride!
That alone should boost our self-esteem!
When we downplay our gifts and talents we are downplaying God’s goodness. We are effectively telling Him, “It’s nothing.”
While we don’t wish to sound arrogant, we can politely say “Thank you.” At least in American culture that is socially acceptable. Then we can take the focus off us and our gifts and highlight the giver of that gift: God.
You are God’s masterpiece. He delights in His work, and He certainly delights in you! Relish in that revelation! Because He certainly treasures you and me!
May I post this on the door of my studio?