Last time, we talked about Perspective and Ephesians 2:10. I love this verse!
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 (NLT)
Now that we have a better understanding of God’s perspective on our lives, we can see something really cool!
The art process that we use to create a piece of art is very similar to God’s process of creating a masterpiece of us…
Seeing the Similarities
So when I have an idea for a piece of art I spend a lot of time thinking about it before I actually start. I do a lot of planning beforehand to work out the layers and make sure everything goes down in the right order. God also has a plan for each of us that He planned for us long ago. Remember Ephesians 2:10?
I also love Psalms 139:13-16 which says that he planned all our days and they are written in his book, before one of them came to be:
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
Psalms 139:13-16
Art class instruction
In my workshop, I lead my students step-by-step through the art process. I’ve had art newbies and others with more experience in my classes. The newbies know they don’t know what to do and they listen and ask questions and follow instructions closely. They put their trust in me, the instructor, to take them through the process to complete a finished piece.
I think there’s a tendency for those that have more experience to think, “oh, I know how to do that. I’m just gonna go do my own thing over here.” That steps outside of my plan for the class project, but they have the freedom to do their own thing.
BUT their results may vary. They may find themselves in a very different place than the rest of the class or they might realize they didn’t know how to do what they thought they did. They may be stuck and need assistance getting back to “the plan” for the piece.
But you can’t really mess up mixed media. You just add more layers to get back to where you want to be. Or, you use subtractive, more abrasive techniques like rubbing, scraping or sanding to get back to where you were.
God’s perfect plan vs. our free will
This very much parallels God working in our lives. We have the freedom to do whatever we want, but our “results may vary”. He has his perfect will that we may or may not follow, depending on our obedience. If we put our trust in the instructor and follow his instructions, we know that our lives will turn out according to his plan.
If we do disobey, or go off and do our own thing, our own way, we may find ourselves in a very different place than we thought we were going to end up. Or we might be really stuck and in a lot of pain because we didn’t choose wisely. But when we surrender to him, God is faithful to continue his work in us. There are still consequences to our sin of disobedience, which may require more layers, or seasons, to work in. But somehow in his amazing, we can’t fathom how he does it way, he blends all of that ugly into something beautiful. More like Jesus.
He didn’t promise life would be easy
And, you might not want to hear this, but even if we obey him, we aren’t guaranteed to have lovely, easy layers, or “seasons”. He told us in John 16:
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33
God is a mixed media artist
Not to be biased, but I believe that God is a mixed media artist! He uses a variety of things in our lives to draw us to him and to build things in us for us to become who He created us to be.
And mixed media is all about the layers!
In art, some layers are pretty, but most are not very exciting or just outright ugly and messy. But ALL the layers are needed to create character and depth to the final piece. The ugly ones especially add so much to the final product.
In life, God uses all the different seasons in our lives—the good, the bad and the ugly–especially the ugly ones—to shape us into who he has created us to be for our good and His glory. The yucky ones are where he can reveal himself to us in new ways and grow our faith, our character, our strength.
So if you find yourself in a bad or ugly season at the moment—please take heart! Jesus has overcome it all! You can read about my long, ugly season here. You have purpose in this life, so don’t give up, Lovely One! Please remember…
You are a Masterpiece!
