Faith & Insight: God makes a masterpiece

My family is full of artists; my father, my grandfather, and I, too, am an artist.

I draw my inspiration from nature. You know, no matter how good I get at my craft, God continues to do it better.

God is the master artist. We read this in the very first sentence of the Bible that, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” He took what was void and shapeless and created such incredible diverse beauty. Such artistry in creation, this earth is a masterpiece.

I think of Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. It is a masterpiece! Da Vinci placed such value on this work. One interesting fact about this painting is that it was worked on for more than 10 years and that by using modern technology, experts have found that the Mona Lisa was worked and reworked with many layers under the picture we see today. Da Vinci loved this work so much that he was never content to call it finished.

How about Michelangelo’s statue of David? Another masterpiece! The piece of granite he chose had sat in a lot for decades before he found it and saw that its cracks and blemishes were perfectly placed for his imagination to spring forth. He worked on this statue for three years, cutting away stone to reveal his intent. The broken and cracked places fit in perfectly with the vision he had for that stone.

I believe we are like Da Vinci’s canvas and Michelangelo’s granite. God sees our worth and potential and seeks to create in us a work of art, a masterpiece. We are the canvas as God paints his glorious story of love and redemption. We are that piece of granite that is marred, cracked, and broken. What we see as undesirable cracks and blemishes, like the marble in Michelangelo’s hands, God sees a position for them in the masterpiece he sees when he looks at us.

Your life is his masterpiece. Nothing about you is a mistake. You, as you are, are exactly what he had in mind when he thought of you.

Capt. Leslie Cyr is an officer in the Salvation Army at 661 Colorado St. For information, go to carsoncitysalarmy.org.