I have long loved Ephesians 2:10: “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them” (NASB). As I reflect on what Ephesians 2:10 says about each of us being God’s workmanship, I think of His intention and attention to every detail that concerns us.
It is easy for our circumstances to cause us to forget the attentiveness, the care, and the sovereignty of God. Sometimes I don’t understand what He is allowing in my life or the lives of those around me.
I wonder if you have experienced similar things.
Oswald Chambers writes: “We have this idea that we should shield ourselves from some of the things God brings round us. Never! God engineers circumstances and whatever they may be like we have to see that we face them while abiding continuously with Him…”
You are a precious work of God, and He hasn’t left you sitting on a shelf, dusty or forgotten, even if your circumstances cause you to feel that way. In Christ, you are more masterfully and more beautifully made than you can fathom.
You may already know the Greek word translated “workmanship” in Ephesians 2:10 is poiema. That Greek is where we get our word poem from. The Jerusalem Bible translates Ephesians 2:10 as “We are God’s work of art…” Several translations render the word poiema as “masterpiece.”
Works of art. Poems. Masterpieces. That is what we are.
You are God’s work of art, a masterpiece.
You are His poem, written for the world to see.
Poetry is a unique and beautiful art form. It is rare and precious and insightful. Good poetry is soul filling.
When I turned 19, my Mom wrote me a letter in which she said: “you have a poetic soul.” I have clung to that line at times when I have felt misunderstood, when I have doubted a purpose or a value within myself. My mom saw something beautiful in me that I sometimes cannot see in myself. She saw the artistry and poetry of God in me.
It is a powerful thing to have a word like that from a parent.
Here is a powerful word that is true about you from your eternal, all-knowing and all-loving parent:
You are my poem, an artistic creation. You are My work of art. One of a kind. A masterpiece… I crafted you; I created in Christ Jesus for the good works I have planned for you.
The parent who knows you best has declared you a poem, an artwork, with purpose and power in Christ. That is truth to live in and be amazed by. That is truth to hang on to like I have hung onto that letter from my mom for nearly 40 years.
I invite you to spend some time talking with your heavenly Father about workmanship and poetry. Sit with Him and ask Him to help you see yourself the way He sees you. Ask Him to tell you of the different ways He is using the events of your life to reveal the work of art you are.