My mom was up to visit this past weekend for Eli’s birthday. When she came, she brought a beautiful dresser for us that she got from an older relative that was getting rid of some things. It’s well-constructed from solid wood with a beautiful, warm stain that brings out the grain.
It’s not the type of dresser you’ll find at Wal-Mart. There are no stickers on it to show which piece matches this peg and fits in that slot. There’s no laminate or particle board to be found in this dresser. I don’t know if this dresser would be considered a “masterpiece” by the craftsman, but it’s a far cry from most dressers made today.
Who do you think you are? That’s the question we’re asking in our current sermon series. You may not always feel like it, but you are a masterpiece:
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:8-10
We focus so much on the fact that we have been “saved by grace through faith” to “do good works” that we miss the connecting clause: “For we are His workmanship.” Other translations use masterpiece in place of workmanship, which is probably closer to the actual Greek word.
Our dresser’s value and quality was determined not by the dresser itself, but by the work of the master craftsman behind it. Similarly, your worth doesn’t come from what you do, think, or say, but rather from the master craftsman who created you.
Why did God give up everything to rescue you? Because you are His masterpiece. You are His crowning creation. You are valuable because He made you. Who do you think you are? God says you’re His masterpiece.