WE ARE GOD'S MASTERPIECE

Ron Gray, Bearspaw Interim Lead Site Pastor

"God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift of God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 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." Ephesians 2:8-10

One of the foundational truths of the Christian faith is that we receive the gift of salvation by God’s grace. As Paul so eloquently stated in Ephesians 2:8, there is nothing we can do to earn such a gift. Nor can we ever hope to pay God back by doing good things. When it comes to our salvation, earning and recompense to God are simply not a part of the equation. We receive. Period. This leaves us in the humbling position of being saved through no power or effort of our own. Were it not for God’s grace, we would be utterly and eternally lost.

Part of the Good News is that God does not leave us in the humbled state of a powerless recipient. That would be an unkind and debilitating form of rescue, one that would handicap us for the rest of our lives. No, in a beautiful continuation of his saving grace, God through Christ makes us into a new creation. As with all of God’s creative works, he does not settle for mediocre, humdrum, workmanship. Not in the least! When he makes us anew, he is intent on creating a masterpiece.

In the language in which Paul wrote the original letter to the Ephesians, the word we read as ‘masterpiece’ has the connotation of a fine piece of art. This is the kind of art that people travel miles to see. The kind of art that people stand around, mesmerized by the beauty of the object and the skill of the artist who created it. You, my friend, surpass da Vinci’s Mona Lisa in your beauty. You are superior to Michelangelo’s David in your intricate perfection. You are God’s masterpiece!

If you are familiar with the works of art I have just made reference to you might be thinking; “Ron, I appreciate your kindness, but I do not look anything like those masterpieces.” I will leave that determination to you. I must insist however, that you are a masterpiece nonetheless. You may not look like the Mona Lisa or David, but your beauty shines forth in a different way. It is at this point that we return to the good things we do.

You are a working masterpiece. You are not an item of beauty that sits on a display stand or is hung on a gallery wall to be admired. God has created you anew to do many wonderful and beautiful things in his name. He has a list of things that he has prepared for you to do. That list has existed since before you were born. Your salvation is not achieved through your works, but your works are most certainly a beautiful expression of your salvation and who God has created you anew to be.

Every day, as you go into this world, you express through your works what a beautiful masterpiece you are. As you go about your day, doing the things God puts in front of you to do, you are a beautiful expression of the power of God’s saving grace. In every act of kindness, every declaration of the Good News, every promotion of the truth, you are truly living up to your true self: God’s Masterpiece!

Speaking of God’s Masterpieces, for quite some time we have had two such masterpieces among us; Phil and Kjerstie Morrow. Phil and Kjerstie have poured themselves out for the ministry and people of RockPointe. For many years Phil has served as one of our Youth Pastors. Recently the Worship Ministry at Bearspaw was added to his responsibilities. Phil and Kjerstie have truly done the good things among us that God had planned for them to do. Now God’s plan is taking them elsewhere to be masterpieces of God’s handiwork there.

Recently, Phil and Kjerstie began to feel God’s call to join the ministry team of Cochrane Alliance Church. Phil invited the Lead Team and the congregation of RockPointe to join in the process of discerning if this opportunity was God’s plan for their future. All were in agreement that this is the next step God is calling them to. While it is hard to say goodbye, we do so knowing that God’s plan is best and that Phil and Kjerstie are doing what God has for them to do. And, I might add, they are doing it beautifully.

Phil’s last day at RockPointe will be March 10, but before then we will have opportunities to celebrate the Morrows and thank them for all they done among us. Stay tuned for more details.