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The Way that God Made You As a Masterpiece

You were handpicked and handcrafted as a beautiful reflection of your Creator. Do you know what you call something like that? A masterpiece. That’s what God calls it, too.

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

We all know what a masterpiece is. It’s a creator’s prized piece, his or her most valuable work. Artists are blessed if they have a single masterpiece. Few throughout history are fortunate enough to have had more. Beethoven is one of them. So is Vincent van Gogh. So is Michelangelo.

The Purpose of a Masterpiece

Though each artist represents a different kind of art, they all three share a common feature of their repeated success. Beethoven, who was totally deaf, composed his symphonies in a void of sound. Born with a brain lesion, van Gogh battled mania and depression. He had to find vision in the midst of chaos and emptiness. Michelangelo famously credits his sculptures to a single principle: “I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.”

Do you see? Some of the greatest masterpieces by the greatest artists are created out of something that nobody else could recognize.

No artist, of course, compares to God. Imagine the most beautiful sights you’ve ever seen in creation. Maybe the snow-capped mountains, the northern lights, a field of brilliantly colored wildflowers or waves crashing into a towering cliff. Out of nothing, God brought forth these masterpieces. He saw them for what they were long before anyone else could.

That’s how God sees you.

I know that right now your life might not look like anything of value to others or to yourself, but the truths is that long ago God saw the value in you, because He placed it there! That’s why He chose to bring you into existence.

The Masterpiece of You

Today you may be surrounded by obstacles, and your greatest features might be hidden under layers of insecurity, fear, struggle or shame. Even as you read, God is working to remove those layers. Just know that there is a masterpiece in you that you don’t have to prove, you just have to reveal. When you do, the right people will recognize it.

God chose and molded you—but not to fit a mold. The thing about a masterpiece is that it’s made to stand out. As many masterpieces as Beethoven, van Gogh and Michelangelo created, not a single one was the same. They each were wildly unique and were crafted to express a unique part of their creator’s heart.

As are you!

Friend, you are no mistake, nor the product of some random chance. You are the outcome of God’s choosing, the result of His steady hand. Yes, you belong as you are with all your quirks and qualities, because with them, not despite them, you reflect something about God that the world needs to see.

[This is an excerpt from Shut Up, Devil: Silencing the 10 Lies behind Every Battle You Face by Kyle Winkler.]