Ephesians 2:1-10
Have you ever watched an artist at work? At first, the canvas can seem confusing. A few scattered brushstrokes. Colours that don’t appear to belong together. Sections that look unfinished or even messy. If you judged the painting too early, you might wonder where it was going. But the artist sees something more.
Every brushstroke has a purpose. Every layer adds depth. Every colour contributes to a picture that is still unfolding.
In Ephesians, Paul writes, “For we are what he has made us…” Many translations say we are God’s “handiwork.” The Greek word Paul uses is poiēma, the word from which we get our English word poem.
It is a beautiful image.
We are God’s handiwork. God’s artistry. God’s ongoing work of creation.
That doesn’t mean our lives are already perfect. Quite the opposite. Like a painting still on the easel or a poem still being written, there are places where the work is unfinished. There are colours still being added. Edges still being softened. New beauty still emerging.
Maybe we should take comfort in that.
So often we become discouraged by the parts of ourselves that feel incomplete. We wish we were more patient. More courageous. More forgiving. More at peace. We compare ourselves to others and wonder why our own lives seem so unfinished.
But God is not surprised by unfinished things. The Artist has not stepped away from the canvas. Every experience of joy, every season of struggle, every lesson learned, every act of grace received, all become part of the masterpiece God is creating. Even the places we wish looked different are not beyond God’s ability to redeem.
The invitation of this passage is not to become someone else. It is to trust that God is lovingly shaping the person we are already becoming.
Perhaps faith is less about striving for perfection and more about allowing the Artist to keep working. With patience. With grace. With love. And maybe the most faithful thing we can do this week is to look at ourselves – and others – not as finished products to be judged, but as masterpieces still in progress.
Take some time to sit with the reading this week, and reflect with the following questions:
- What parts of your life feel unfinished or incomplete right now?
- When have you looked back and realized God was at work in ways you couldn’t see at the time?
- How might your view of yourself change if you truly believed you are God’s handiwork rather than a project to fix?
- Who in your life might need to be seen with the same patience and grace that God extends to you?
Let’s pray:
Creative God, thank you for calling us your handiwork. When we become discouraged by our imperfections or impatient with our growth, remind us that you are not finished with us. Help us to trust your loving hands, even when we cannot yet see the whole picture. Shape us with your grace, deepen us through your love, and teach us to see ourselves and one another as beautiful works still unfolding. AMEN
