Discover His heart: He lavishes His unfathomable love on His creation
The Louvre was closing in 30 minutes, and after a full day of exploring this mammoth museum, I was ready to call it a day when suddenly I realized that I had missed the prize of the Louvre! In all our exploration of unbelievable paintings and artifacts, including ruins from Babylon, we had missed the masterpiece of the Museum, the pièce de résistance, The Mona Lisa! However, it’s amazing what can happen when adrenaline kicks in.
Energy renewed, we flew through the vast exhibits and galleries and breathlessly arrived to view The Masterpiece, a rather smallish, glass-enclosed painting. At first glance, I wondered what in this painting took Da Vinci seven years to paint! But as I studied it, I, too, saw all the things that made it memorable – the eyes that seemed to follow me as I moved across the room, the mystery of the unmatched background, its subtle coloring and that enigmatic smile. What was she smiling about?! Although many believe it was painted over a self-portrait, a makeover if you please, the end result is indeed a masterpiece.
@ Ephesians 2
“God saved you by His grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 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.”(8,10) God took the old canvas of what I was and created a masterpiece. Talk about the ultimate makeover!
Just as the one who posed for the Mona Lisa, I can’t take credit for His workmanship because it was His gift to me for simply believing in His grace. Unlike the Mona Lisa, we do not hang on a wall to be admired by all. No, we are living masterpieces, possessing a greater purpose – to do good works.
@ Ephesians 3
As His living masterpiece, and yes, we are a work in progress, our Creator paints into our lives from His unlimited palette all that is needed to complete us. “I pray that from His glorious, unlimited resources He will empower you with inner strength through His Spirit. Then Christ will make His home in your hearts as you trust Him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high and how deep His love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.” (16,18-19)
How wide, how long, how high and how deep His love is! His love is wide enough to reach around our entire world. His love is long enough to reach from here to eternity. His love is high enough to reach every mountaintop experience. And His love is deep enough to reach into the lowest valley we face. Through our relationship with Christ living in us, we come to understand in part this otherwise unfathomable love. When others look at us and see the smile His love brings to us, His masterpiece, they may wonder what we are smiling about. And of course, we will feel obliged to tell them.
Moving Forward: Sometimes hard to believe yet true, I am His masterpiece, the creation of His workmanship. When others in the traffic of life see my smile today, may it cause them to ask, “Now, just what is she smiling about?”
Tomorrow @ Leviticus 1-3 (More than meets the eye!)
Phyllis Benigas 