He seemed almost erratic as he bounced from side to side on
the stage splashing bright paints of various colors upon a large canvas. Lisa and I had joined several thousand others
at a Contemporary Christian concert and were caught in awe as the artist, dressed
in a black robe, created his masterpiece before our eyes as the band filled the
room with music and praise.
One minute passed, then two, then three and to be honest, we
still couldn’t make out what the image was going to be. Finally, the artist stepped back as to unveil
to the crowd his work of art and it still made no sense at all. Then he walked up to the canvas and turned it
180’ and what we beheld sent a hush over the entire crowd, it was an incredible
portrait of the face of Jesus.
We have been blessed over the ages with some very talented
artist whose works have often left us breathless. Still yet, their creativity pales when
compared to the true Master Artist – God.
On a
recent drive home, my youngest daughter said, “Daddy, I just saw an alligator snapping turtle chasing an eel.” I was taken by surprise to say the least since we were not near a water source, nor have I ever seen either an alligator snapping turtle or an eel in our area of the Midwest. When I asked where she saw these creatures she informed me she was cloud watching. Within minutes she exclaimed, “Now the snapping turtle has changed shapes into a bunny.” She was captivated by God’s handiwork in creation.
recent drive home, my youngest daughter said, “Daddy, I just saw an alligator snapping turtle chasing an eel.” I was taken by surprise to say the least since we were not near a water source, nor have I ever seen either an alligator snapping turtle or an eel in our area of the Midwest. When I asked where she saw these creatures she informed me she was cloud watching. Within minutes she exclaimed, “Now the snapping turtle has changed shapes into a bunny.” She was captivated by God’s handiwork in creation.
Think about it. The
one who paints the night sky with dazzling lights, gives flight to the birds, unfolds
the flower at just the right moment to
display its inner beauty and fragrance is the same God who knew you before you
were born and is in the process of creating a piece of art in your life.
The Scriptures declare, “For
those whom He (God) foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the
image of His Son(Jesus) so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren”
(Romans 8: 29, NASB).
God’s main objective is to sculpt your life to reflect that
of His Son, the Lord Jesus. Now, if you
are like me, you often feel more like a messy canvas than a breathtaking
masterpiece. I must admit, there are
times I just cannot connect the dots and figure out what God is doing in my
life and how it is going to make me more like Jesus. Can you relate?
One of my earliest memories of church as a child is standing
with the other children before the congregation and singing, “He’s still working on me, to make me what I
ought to be. It took Him just a week to
make the moon and the stars, the Sun, and the Earth, and Jupiter and Mars. How lovely
and patient he must be, He’s still working on me.” I bet you are starting humming the tune didn’t
you?
What a wonderful truth is found in that catchy children’s
hymn. It echoes the words of hope that
the Apostle Paul shared with a young congregation in Philippi, “I always pray with joy…being confident of
this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until
the day of Christ Jesus” (
Philippians 1: 4-6 NASB).
You can rest in the assurance that God never stops working on
us. Through the good and the bad, the ups
and the downs, successes and the failures, the joys and the sorrows, He’s still
working on you to make a piece of art – to show others the portrait of Jesus
through you.
