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
Day after day, it laid there. In the Florence, Italy cathedral courtyard, a massive chunk of beautiful marble rested for nearly a century. Now wait—think about that. Not a few months or even several years, but for ten long decades. Amazing. It turns out a sculptor had been commissioned to create something and had made a mistake leaving the stone deemed unusable. Surely over those years, hundreds of people walked by the piece of marble seeing nothing useful. “What a waste,” they would say. And then, one day it happened.
In 1505, a young sculptor named Michelangelo (does that name ring a bell?) discovered the neglected piece and saw something that no one else saw—potential. While others saw its flaws—he saw a masterpiece. Over the course of three years, he diligently worked to transform the marble. He worked to bring out a masterpiece—an impressive 18-foot-tall sculpture of the young shepherd boy David. That single statue not only defined his career then, but five hundred years later, it remains one of the world’s greatest masterpieces. Many people even visit Florence, Italy to view it in person.
That is an amazing story, isn’t it? But think about this. Much like Michelangelo with his marble, God too sees potential—not in a chuck of stone but in people—people like you and me. Where others see waste and failure, God sees more. He sees a masterpiece. I love what Paul wrote in the New Testament letter to the church of Ephesus. He wrote, “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.” On my—isn’t that marvelous. And just to think—you thought you were a mistake. You thought you were junk. You thought you were destined to lie in the rubble of life because someone told you that you could never be anything more. You just listened to the wrong voice.
The right voice is the voice of Creator God. Some call Him, “Dearest Daddy.” He encounters us in our brokenness, lost and in need of refinement. When we place our faith in Christ, God begins the process of sculpting us, methodically chipping away at our imperfections to shape us into the image He envisions.
How about that? Now remember, this process is rarely comfortable or easy, but it is always worth it. If you ever wonder what in the world God is doing in your life, I can tell you the answer. He is making you like His Son, Jesus. Someone said God doesn’t always make us happy, but He is always working to make us holy. So, let me encourage you to trust the masterpiece maker. Let me encourage you to allow Him to work and bring development to the masterpiece that you are. The job of the marble is simply to be available to the Sculptor…who does a mighty work with His skillful hands. You can do that you know because, “He’s got this.” Bro. Dewayne
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Grits with Grace 