Live Your Life as God’s Masterpiece
By Dawn Tolbert
“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10
Beneath an artist’s hands, even the most cracked lump of clay comes alive and the most jagged or dull block of stone becomes captivating.
We inherited a hand-embroidered tablecloth from my husband’s great aunt. I love running my finger along the design and thinking about how the tiny, delicate stitches must have taken her countless hours to complete. An appraiser of fine linens might notice flaws in the stitching, but to us, it’s a masterpiece created by loving hands.
In his letter to the church at Ephesus, Paul, the author, described Christians as “God’s handiwork.” The word literally means something made by the work of God’s Hands. Other translations say we are His “masterpiece.” Whatever the term, the meaning is clear—we were created by God in Christ.
God hand-crafted each of us to be unique. None of us share exactly the same mixture of genetics, purpose, and experience, which means we’re all custom-designed by the Creator. God made each one of us with a purpose in mind: “to do good works, which God prepared … for us.” Though we’re all called to know God and make Him known, God created each of us to do in a beautifully unique way.
Sometimes we’re tempted to compare ourselves to others and determine we’re not as talented or able to teach or sing or write or dance or relate to people like others do. When those thoughts come, remember you weren’t meant to mimic that individual or fill her role; you were made to do the things God prepared for you.
Sometimes we’re tempted to focus on what others see as “flaws” in our design. But Ephesians 2:10 encourages us to embrace our uniqueness and celebrate the fact God thought the world needed each of us. We can rest knowing we can serve Christ in our unique way. After all, we’re the work of His Hands, His masterpiece.
Dawn Tolbert is a contributor to Wholly Loved MinistriesDaily Devotional, a Christ-follower who writes to honor God, thank Him for His goodness, and encourage readers by sharing her faith journey. She works in higher education public relations and is writing her first novel and her first book-length Bible study. She has earned a B.A. in Communication Studies and English (Gardner-Webb College), a M.A. in Professional Writing (Kennesaw State University), and an Ed.D. in Higher Education Leadership (Union University). She and her husband, Larry, live in Cedartown, Georgia, and serve actively in their church. Dawn blogs at dawntolbert.com.
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Originally published Tuesday, 20 August 2019.
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