Have you ever wondered why you sometimes feel more awful than awesome, despite being created as God’s masterpiece? The journey to understanding our true identity requires us to recognize that while we were designed for greatness, something happened along the way.
What Happened to God’s Masterpiece?
In Ephesians 2:8-10, we learn a profound truth: “God saved you by his grace when you believed… For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”
But between our creation as a masterpiece and our current experience, something significant occurred:
- Your life was robbed by Satan and sin
- Jesus redeemed your life
- God is now restoring you to your original design
The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. But Jesus came to give us life in all its fullness (John 10:10).
Why Were You Stolen?
Think about this powerful truth: You weren’t stolen because you were worthless. You were stolen because you were priceless.
Consider the story of the Ghent Altarpiece – a masterpiece painting completed in 1432 that has been stolen 13 times throughout history. Why was it stolen? Because of its immense value and worth. Similarly, Satan targets you because he recognizes your true value as God’s masterpiece.
When this painting was recovered after being hidden in salt mines during World War II, it required extensive restoration. Years of being hidden in darkness, covered by salt, dust, and grime had marred its original beauty. Yet the original owners never stopped searching for it because they knew its worth.
How Grace Transforms Us
1. Grace calls us as we are and transforms us into who we’re meant to be
God doesn’t wait for you to clean yourself up before He accepts you. Romans 5:8 reminds us that “God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.”
God calls you with all your flaws, failures, and brokenness. He knows it all, sees it all, and understands it all – yet still values you as His masterpiece.
The beautiful truth is that while God accepts you as you are, He loves you too much to leave you that way. He begins a restoration process, gently removing the layers that sin has placed on you:
- Layers the world has put on you
- Layers your parents or others have put on you
- Layers of false expectations
- Layers of selfish ambition
2. Grace calls us where we are and transforms us into what we need to be
When Jesus called His disciples, He met them right where they were – as fishermen who had failed in their culture’s educational system. He didn’t wait for them to change before calling them. Instead, He said, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19).
Jesus didn’t try to change everything about them before they followed Him. The transformation happened during the journey of following Him. This is how discipleship works – change happens while walking with Jesus, not before.
God transforms us from the inside out:
- He changes what we pursue – from selfish ambition to God’s purposes
- He changes what we prioritize – from temporal to eternal things
- He changes what we produce – from meaningless activity to meaningful work
- He changes what we practice – from destructive habits to life-giving disciplines
- He changes what we proclaim – from empty words to God’s truth
3. Grace calls us with what we have and transforms us into what we need
In 1 Corinthians 1:26-29, Paul reminds us that few believers were wise, powerful, or wealthy when God called them. Instead, “God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they’re wise.”
God doesn’t consult your mess to determine if you’re qualified – He consults your masterpiece. He takes whatever gifts, abilities, and resources you currently have and transforms them into what you need to fulfill His purpose.
Your Past Becomes Part of Your Purpose
Here’s a powerful truth many miss in the redemption story: God not only redeems you, He redeems your story to use it for His good.
Your pain becomes a platform to heal others. Your failures become the foundation for helping someone else succeed. Your brokenness becomes a bridge to broken people. As Roy Vaden says, “You are most powerfully positioned to serve the person you once were.”
You can’t always make sense of the pain you’ve been through, but you can always make use of it where you’re going.
Life Application
Stop trying to create a life you think God can use and start letting Him use the life He’s already created. Here are some practical steps to embrace your identity as God’s masterpiece:
- Recognize the robbery: Acknowledge where sin and Satan have stolen aspects of your true identity.
- Embrace redemption: Thank God that He valued you enough to pay the ultimate price – Jesus’ life – to buy you back.
- Participate in restoration: Cooperate with God’s grace as He removes layers that don’t belong and reveals your true self.
- Use your story: How might your past struggles, even the painful ones, qualify you to help others? Ask God to show you how your redeemed story can become part of someone else’s redemption.
- Trust the process: Restoration takes time. Be patient with yourself as God works in you.
Questions to Consider:
- What areas of your life still feel “covered over” by past experiences, failures, or sin?
- How might God be using your current struggles as part of your restoration process?
- Who in your life needs to hear that they are God’s masterpiece, not defined by their mistakes?
- What would change if you truly believed you were created to be awesome, not awful?
Remember: Masterpieces don’t stop being masterpieces just because they have messes. You are God’s masterpiece, being restored day by day to reflect His glory.
