You are His Masterpiece

Living on the west coast of NZ, we are blessed with some pretty spectacular sunsets. In fact we have a lot of photos of sunsets – from winter pinks and pastels, to the fiery reds and purples of summer – and everything inbetween!

You would think it would get a little ho hum after a while – after all, once you’ve seen one sunset, you’ve seen them all! But no – each sunset paints a different picture across the sky, each season gives its own sense of beauty through the colours drawn across the heavens.

Even the stormy days have their own sense of beauty at days end – the tinge of pink and yellow just touching the edges of the storm clouds – giving hope that tomorrow will be a calmer day!

And over it all, the Master Painter works His brush strokes over the canvas of the skies – lavishly painting the colours, whilst intricately drawing something of depth and beauty.

Psalm 139 vs 13 – 16 states that: “You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit them together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! It is amazing to think about. Your workmanship is marvellous – and how well I know it. You were there while I was being formed in utter seclusion! You saw me before I was born and scheduled each day of my life before I began to breathe. Every day was recorded in your book!”

We were knit together by the Master Creator God into something beautiful even before we were born. And His workmanship is marvellous. That’s me and you! We are His creation – His masterpiece – marvellous, beautiful and planned! There’s nothing random, nor any mistake about your life and being.

And throughout each day of our lives, as we walk with Him, we are continuously being formed and created by His Spirit within us, as He continuously paints His beautiful masterpiece. Each stroke of the brush is planned to produce something very beautiful. And every experience we go through reflects a stroke of colour in His hands – all joining together to produce the painting that reflects the colours of the Son – the One who sees us, knows us and who says that His creation – his painting – is “very good.”

Even the stormy, painful days of our lives are a vital piece of the canvas. A painting without shadow is flat and lacks depth and life. But when you add in shadows and dark shading, it comes to life – just as it is with us. The dark days add a depth to our lives when we surrender them to the One who loves us, and allow Him to use them to mould and form us, knowing His love and grace at work in and through the pain will ultimately lead to something beautiful – a reflection of the Son in our lives.

A number of years ago I wrote a song called ‘Masterpiece’ – the refrain is printed below. Why not take some time with a cuppa and reflect on the words of Psalm 139, and this song? And as you do, listen to the voice of the Master Painter who sits with you and whispers into your heart “you are a masterpiece – a beautiful, treasured, priceless creation, painted with love and grace, and very very good.”

You are a masterpiece, in the making of His hands.

You are a painting each brush stroke is planned

The dark blends into light

The shadows of the night turn into dawn

As each line is drawn, hear Him say

You are a masterpiece.