Reflections

"For we are His workmanship,

created in Christ Jesus for good works,

which God prepared beforehand

so that we would walk in them."

Ephesians 2:10

The word translated "workmanship" in Greek is “poeima”. It’s the word for poem. "We are his poem." I like that. Our son, David, is a published poet. I’m saying that here not just because I’m proud of him; but also because having a poet in the family has helped me to understand this verse a little more clearly.

I have watched how David writes. He has ideas and thoughts in his mind, and it is almost as if they are alive in him. He has to write them down. And then he agonizes over the poem, crafting it just the way he wants it to be. He works for a while and then comes back to it later to rewrite a certain phrase or to change a word. He spends unbelievable amounts of time creating the poem to be exactly as he envisioned, so that it will express what is in his heart and mind, until finally it is finished. Then the poem is sent to the publisher and put on display.

I think that is what Paul is telling us in Ephesians. We are God's  masterpiece,  his workmanship, his poem. He is working in our lives to craft us to be exactly as he envisioned so that we will express what is in his heart and mind. He wants to display us to the world - as beautifully perfected masterpieces - each of us a demonstration of His power, his love, his character, his peace, his life. "We are his poem."

There are times when David sends me a poem to ask my opinion, and honestly, sometimes I don’t understand them. I don’t get what he is trying to express, it is confusing to me. But that doesn’t make it any less of a masterpiece, any less of a poem. It just means that my human brain can’t understand it all. And the same is true of my life. God is working a masterpiece, I might not always understand, but I can rest in the fact that He knows, He has a plan, and he is creating exactly what he desires in my life so that I will be a reflection of Him.

God, please let me be an accurate reflection of you today!