The Reflected Masterpiece - The Sacred Image in the Glass

Ephesians 2:10

"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."

All artistry begins with a spark of inspiration. An artist conceives of a new idea—a seed—and immediately envisions its final form. They determine what it will look and feel like, first in their mind and then to an audience. They draft the plans and select the materials, limited only by the bounds of their creative spirit. Finally, their hand meets the medium, giving the vision its initial context and form.

Poets will play with their rhymes, dexterously juggling syllables and cleverly engineering expressions until all the pieces fall iambically into place. When it’s correct, you can almost hear the “click!” To the poet, a poem is never truly finished, only abandoned. Each new edit, even the eighteenth, is a testament to the fact that creations of human hands will always bear the humble signature of their imperfection. As the old farmer said as he gave his fence line a sidelong glance: “Almost nearly, but not quite plumb.”

 “The first beat of rhythm and rhyme is detected at the sound of the poet laying down his pen!”

Songwriters follow the same nuclear strategy. However, their graceful lyrics must also ride beneath a score of pitches and pulses. Music has become another art that has benefited from structure and rules. The most magnificent operas, classical or rock, have been birthed from the mind of creative Man. Beethoven and Mozart, Brahms and Bach, Gilbert and Sullivan, Gershwin and Gershwin, Lerner and Loewe, Webber and Rice, Page and Plant, Jagger and Richards, John and Taupin, Lennon and McCartney... shall I go on? Musical art has yielded the most brilliant arias and symphonies for heating or cooling the unseen spark of Man! This vehicle has also driven a road to “contra-music” at the spectrum’s other end: cacophony, dissonance, and noise. For many, this, too, has its place on the Charts. 

"When the ink dries on a new song’s page, it takes its first breath!”

Sculptors and painters travel on parallel roads. The mind’s eye must see the map, what road to follow or avoid to get there, and what the best transport vehicle is. Their endpoint is the completed piece (an oxymoron) of their effort, polished, framed, and displayed. The artist’s whim often determines the best route, whether predictable, bizarre, or somewhere in between! To bring their vision to life, an artist may choose a medium as solid as bronze or as fragile as ice, as traditional as oil on canvas or as modern as sculpted light. They can paint with charcoal or compose with sound, blending any materials in combinations limited only by the imagination.

“Once the artist withdraws his hand, the piece begins to speak!”

Paul's message to the Ephesians was a call to action. On this day, we are not simply a part of God’s creation; we are His Masterwork, each of us a unique brushstroke on His canvas, some finer, some broader. We all begin as a blank canvas, the rawest of material. However, the finished creation is exemplified perfectly in Jesus Christ. Our Creator God didn’t use a worn and weathered canvas of a Fallen Man. He started with a brand-new creation. Zero miles! He isn’t a God of temporary fixes, applying celestial "Bondo" and "duct tape" to a shattered original. He didn’t try to fix something that had become terribly broken! Before Jesus saved us, we were all terminally defective, forever faulty. The only solution was to create a new being that would be reborn by the Holy Spirit and washed clean by the blood of the sacrificial Lamb, Jesus. Our artwork of faith in Him displays the artistic quality of our redeemed lives.

“Sola fide - Solely by our faith! Notice: Not by our works!”

As a unique individual, you have a special place in the kingdom of God. You, as a Christian, are on display in God’s live-action museum. You are included in His portfolio, His Proud Body of Work. When you look into a mirror, see the sacred image in the glass returning your gaze. Please, display yourself in the best light!

We are His poems, His songs, His symphonies

We are His works of art, His paintings, His sculptures

The Creator of the Universe has made us the centerpiece in the gallery of His creation

I don’t know what you’ve heard, but the truth is..."For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." - Ephesians 2:10