Ever mold anything out of clay (like Adam was molded out of the clay of the earth)? Did you leave your finerprint on it? It's almost impossible not to. Whether we leave a partial print on the surface or not, it still bears our imprint because it comes from our imagining. Its value comes from its creator. Your value comes from the same source. In fact the Creator has just as much pleasure in looking at you as the sunset because you bear the very fingerprint of God. It was only humans that God said was "very good." You are very good in the eyes of God.
I’m speaking to you out of deep gratitude for all that God has given me, and especially as I have responsibilities in relation to you. Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it’s important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him.
(Romans 12:3, The Message)
Look at yourself in the mirror today . What has God done for you? Are you awake? Seeing your reflection (even if your hair is a mess and you haven't brushed your teeth)? Have a pulse? Have a place to stay, a job to go to, a family to love, a life to live? That's not so bad is it? And you didn't make any of that happen, God did. You didn't even make the mirror to look into. All that you have, all that you are is because of God. You didn't earn or think up forgiveness. You didn't create loveability. Yet you are living, breathing, loved and forgiven. Are you getting the picture? Your picture? The picture of you, hanging on the wall of God (or in God's wallet were God to carry one!)? You are a work of art, of the very hand of the Creator. It's as Paul said that the only true way to understand ourselves is by what God is and does for us.
You are God's handiwork. You are God's and because of that you're a masterpiece
Peace ><>
PC
2 comments:
Yes we are God's masterpiece and how important it is for us to see God's beauty within us but also how important to recognize and see God's beauty in others...even those who have angered us, those who have disappointed us, those who have hurt us. Even they are a beautiful masterpiece of God's....God's child whom he also carries a picture of in his "wallet". Todays post and scripture reading teach us to find the beauty in us and to also find the beauty in others. To love our enemies and do be careful to always do what is right and live in peace with each other. Just like an old piece of furniture set out for the trash..to which someone comes along and with a loving touch unearth something beautiful beneath the wornout, rough and ruddy exterior...so to it is with others..who on the exterior appear harsh, rough and unloving but somewhere beneath lies a beautiful work of art...hand crafted by God. While not always easy, we need to love others even when they seem to be the enemy...pray to God to help us find the beauty that lies beneath. Sometimes it is so much easier to hate than to love, so much easier to toss aside the "old, torn apart rough and ruddy piece of furniture" than to take the time to find the real beauty beneath. For me this year...I am not only working to see the "NUME" but I am also working on seeing the "NUYOU" in others.
How true. It is so easy for us to miss the beauty all around us in others because we are so busy trying to only identify or discover our own beauty. When we are caught up in seeing only ourselves (even if it is spiritual in nature and for good purpose)we are setting God's ways aside. We need to see the whole picture.
Thanks for the thoughts.
PC
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