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Of all of my children, Jackson is the one that is the most
excited about art. He particularly loves oil pastels (and any other supply if
it’s ‘new’.) Recently, I purchased a new brand of pastels, which made them of
double interest to him. They were a step down from what I have been experimenting
with but they much more affordable, with a wider selection of colors.
The night that they arrived, Jackson was excited to go to
work and couldn’t wait for us to paint. We each got a piece of paper and started
making marks just to see how they transferred to the paper. The new brand
seemed to go on more easily than what we’d been using. They were also more
chalky than oily. Our paper had a faint texture and Jackson was fascinated at
the way the marks were coming out between the two mediums.
After completing his first piece, he proudly stood back with
his hands on his hips and exclaimed:
This
is the goodest picture I’ve ever made. I love these things! Now, give me another
piece [of paper]!”
I laughed then showed him how to make a few more marks from
different angles.
The next thirty minutes or so were spent with him pummeling
out a new piece of work. Topped off with a boast about the final product.
Then he’d rip the paper from the board that secured it, fling it over his
shoulder, across the room. Then demand another piece.
He was so full of himself and so proud. It was a little wild
but adorable.
Now I don’t know what happens to us as we get older but it
seems that somewhere, we learn that we’re not supposed to talk about our talents,
display verbal pride about what we’ve produced, or even take up too much time
talking about ourselves. Many of the things that we do say in our reflections
are critical or downplayed because we don’t want to seem arrogant or we’re
worried about upsetting someone else. (Ahem,
people-pleasing.)
Sometimes, the things gone wrong, are the only marks that we
see—forgetting how many of the things that we touch every day, are new to us as
well.
There are other passages in scripture that also tell us to give
God all of the glory. And somehow –sometimes --whether it's taught or interpreted-- when we try to reconcile giving everything to God against our being a sinner, we can believe that it's bad to accept anything good about ourselves at all.
This might be a stretch but in the eyes of a mother looking
at her son, it would seem strange for Jackson to stand back, look at his art,
and tout that all that he produced was because of me. I provided him the tools.
He gave me honor by wanting to spend time with me, doing what I was doing, using
what I gave him; and by being unafraid of the unknown, risking a mess, in order
to make a discovery.
Just the same way, we have a heavenly Father that loves us
more than any of us could fathom. How we give God glory can be hard to process
or understand. But consider the words of Ephesians 2:10.
The ESV version says that “we are His workmanship in
Christ Jesus for good works, which
God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them”.
I like the NLT translation even better. It calls us his ‘masterpiece’. And tells us that he has
created us anew. So that we CAN DO the things that HE planned for us long ago.
What I want you to see here is that a ‘masterpiece’ is an
artist's BEST work of art. Not the scrap paper, a test run, or even the 50th
reproduction.
Not only are we a
masterpiece but we were created to make masterpieces,
to do good work, and to follow his examples, as a creator, emulating him. That
was his plan.
As a parent, I often think about the verse from Matthew
18:3 that asks us to be like little children. While you and I may not be quite
as full of ourselves about our work, it is energizing to be around someone who
is EXCITED about the things that they are working on. Who sees more of the
potential and possibilities, rather than the reasons to stand back or behind.
In examples like this one, I can’t help but see that one of
the best ways that we can give God glory is
by developing a love for new things; not resisting change; following our
curiosities in the things that we’re interested in even when it takes us out of
our comfort zone; being open to God’s plan and the opportunities before us; wanting
to be a part of new experiences, no matter what they ‘look like’ or how they
turn out.
Believing that our best effort
is a masterpiece by itself and the very best way to honor him. –You know, by practicing
-- living out—what we say that we believe; that what God makes and has made,
including each of us, is truly a beautiful and usable design after all.
--
Mediate on that today, this week, this month, or when it
resurfaces again. You are a work of art. Don’t overthink this. Some of the best
art is ‘rough around the edges’. Maybe everything that you have been given, and
will come in contact with, is provided to you, simply for you to ‘explore’ without making a ‘something’ of it. It may be the goodest thing you've ever done.
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