“Late Day Graze”
11X14″ Original Oil Painting painted en plein air by Jeff Love
God has taken 3 actions that prove you are His masterpiece. As you read them consider which one you need to take action on today to live life as the masterpiece He created you to be.
Most artists never sign a painting until they are confident they are finished with the piece, setting it aside as the very last thing they do. I have artist friends who have completed and sent a piece to a gallery, only to have the gallery owner send it back because the artist was so caught up in finishing the piece just right, they had forgotten to sign it. Yet the worth and value of any painting is based on the authenticity of the signature. When an artist has signed a piece, he’s not only signifying the painting is complete, but the work has his stamp of approval. It’s so important I will often prep the area on the painting where I plan to sign it before starting on anything else.
Action #1- He Made You A One Of A Kind Masterpiece
You are unique, a one of a kind masterpiece. He created you with the exact personality, abilities, gifting, passions and experiences to equip and prepare you to live out the unique purpose He has for you. Rest assured that He created you with good things in mind, not my words, but His. Eph 2:10. God’s signature on the masterpiece of your life cannot be duplicated. You’re one of a kind and approved by His signature. Now the choice of living within the action God has already taken for your life is up to you, in other words you have a part in living as the masterpiece God created you to be. Paul did say near the end of his life, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful.” (2 Timothy 4:7)
Action #2 – He Has Authenticated You As His Creation
As an artist, I also sign a certificate of authenticity placed on the back of each of my original paintings, along with my personal seal, allowing collectors to know the work is genuine. In the same way, your value as God’s masterpiece has been authenticated by His personal seal: “Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.” (2 Corinthians 1:21-22 NIV) Paul adds elsewhere, “Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession.” (Ephesians 1:13-14 NIV)
Action #3 – He Sign, Sealed, Delivered You
If that’s not enough to confirm you are created by Him and for Him as His masterpiece, He has also written your name on the palms of His hands (Isaiah 49:16). It was a common practice to engrave a picture of something or someone you loved on your hand in those days long before photography; this truth provides a beautiful illustration of how you were sealed as His masterpiece by the nail-scared hands of Jesus when He gave His life for you on the cross. The disciples saw this seal with their own eyes after the resurrection: “As he spoke, he showed them the wounds in his hands and his side. They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord!” (John 20:20)
God has authenticated His work, your life as His masterpiece, by signing the canvas of your life before you ever existed. It is both awe-inspiring and impossible to comprehend at the same time, yet it is nevertheless true and glorious!
His Signature On You Is Unique And Recognizable
When I was in high school, I knew art would be a major part of my life, so I spent hours working on my signature. I wanted it to be unique and recognizable. I’ll never forget the moment I arrived at the signature I’ve used my entire life. I was in study hall signing my name over and over with different nuances I had been working into the script. A friend asked what I was doing and offered a suggestion to the one part I still wasn’t happy with. She was a godsend; it completed the signature I’d been working on for several years. Since then, friends have tried to forge my signature. They get close but never quite right because they don’t understand those nuances that make the signature unique. God has placed His signature on your life. You are His masterpiece.
Take the Next Steps:
1. What actions do you need to take today to fight for the life as the masterpiece God created you to be?
2. Is there anything that you are allowing in your life that could potentially keep you from finishing the race of life “well”? What action can you take today to change it?
3. Prayerfully ask God to give you the strength and courage to remain faithful to His plan for you.