We Are God's Masterpiece!

Recently, I have been reading through the book of Ecclesiastes in the Old Testament and was impressed by Solomon's little statement: "God has made everything beautiful for its time” (Ecc. 3:11, NLT). This is a wonderful verse that reminds me of the apostle Paul's declaration in Ephesians where he says, “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” (Eph. 2:10, NLT, italics added). A masterpiece is the work of a skilled artist that is considered priceless - indeed, it goes beyond putting a value on it (like the Van Gogh pictured at right). Paul says that we are a masterpiece in Christ. In other words, God sees us as a treasure that to Him is priceless. This was why Christ was willing to die on our behalf to bring us back to God.

The focus of Ecclesiastes 3:11 is not on the externals of life (what we possess or do), but on the quality of one’s inward life and attitudes. This is why Solomon tells us that God “has made everything beautiful for its time.” This is a key phrase, for it lets us know that God is always working according to His purpose for our lives. In his little book entitled Don't Waste Your Sorrows, Paul Billheimer has written, “In order to grow in character it is necessary to understand that nothing God permits to come to His child, whether ‘good’ or ‘ill,’ is accidental or without design. Everything is intended to drive him out of himself into God.” All of this is to prepare us for “that time” to which God is directing our lives. As Mordecai said to Queen Esther, “Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14, NLT, italics added).