“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10)
I have always enjoyed good craftsmanship. Years ago I worked with a builder in our area on a resort-style log cabin. It was built for visiting insurance executives from out of town visiting the home office. They could stay here in comfort like a luxury motel. It was secluded, surrounded by a three or four acre man-made lake, it had a huge deck all around it, there was a boat on the lake, it had private internet services – it had it all! It was BEAUTIFUL. But. I was definitely NOT the finish carpenter on the job. That was my boss. He was a cabinet-maker by trade, so the finishes were immaculate!
I, on the other hand, was a rough-in carpenter (at best). I can build you something small – like a book shelf or table, but it is more utilitarian than anything. It looks like a box (it will be as strong as steel) and ugly as a duckling, but it is functional. My ex used to tease me about my carpenter skills. I wanted to do better, but I just didn’t have the gift.
I love Queen Anne style furniture – the Baroque, ornate furniture with all the fancies – but I am not the one to build it. Many times you can tell who the builder was just by the quality and the individual trademark finishes on the piece. Unfortunately, my name will not live on in infamy for my creations.
Paul writes in this verse that we are God’s workmanship – that we have been re-created or refashioned in Christ, made specifically for the works He has pre-determined for us to create. I am, at best, a marginal speaker. I am, at best a marginal musician. I am, at best, a fairly good teacher and student. But I am an excellent worshipper – if I really let go. Now, I’m not as good as others who dance in the Spirit or prophesy in the Spirit or any number of other manifestations. But I can love God deeply and worship Him endlessly when left to my own devices.
How awesome that God, when He saved us, re-created us in the image and likeness of His Son, Jesus Christ! He took the rough potential that we displayed as unsaved heathens, broke it down, and re-created us using those same talents and gifts for His glory. The rebel who was always in trouble became a prophet. The child who was unruly and disobedient may have become a pastor or counselor. The abused child or adult became someone who reached out and rescued others. The list goes on and on.
Perhaps this was what the prophet Joel was talking about when he said that God would redeem the years the locust, and the grasshopper, and the cankerworm destroyed. God takes what’s left and creates something beautiful out of it. Much like the Japanese have pottery called Kintsugi – an art where they take broken pottery and repair the broken places with gold. The resulting piece is often more valuable than the original unbroken piece – because it is more beautiful, more precious knowing what it has gone through, and it contains gold.
How much more valuable are we? We were re-created using the blood of Jesus Christ! Your life, through broken, when reassembled and repaired using the blood of Christ as the bonding agent, becomes much more valuable than the original, unbroken. Consider the story of the Prodigal Son who, when he returned home, was given a fatted calf for celebration with his friends, the family crest ring, and new clothes. He had been broken, but was now re-created. He was dead, but was now alive!
How about you? Has life broken you? Have you allowed Jesus Christ to reassemble the broken pieces into a new whole? He wants to restore you that you can pour out that grace and love on others. Sure, they can see your (former) broken places and the scars, but that makes you more relatable, more vulnerable, more believable. They can see that you have been through it and are now able to tell your story. Sure, I love to hear the stories of those who came to Christ when they were children and have never sinned a day in their adult lives. Hallelujah! But oh, the testimonies of those who have been returned from the gates of hell! Those are the stories that speak to my heart.
Today my challenge is to give your broken pieces to Christ and let Him begin to re-built you, to re-create you in His image. And let that brokenness and re-createdness speak into the lives of others. I love you and Jesus loves you. I can’t wait to see the glory of your re-creation!
Be blessed.
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