Divine Masterpiece

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:8-10, NKJV)

I love that this is plural, "we", together, collectively -- the Body of Christ. And I have have a new appreciation for the word translated "workmanship". It carries the idea of a masterpiece, the work of a Master Craftsman. The word in the Greek language in which this passage was originally written is poêma , like our word "poem".

We are God's epic poem, a masterpiece of poetry, and through us He is writing and demonstrating the story of His grace. In the verses just before the one quoted above, the Bible declares "For by grace are you all saved through faith--not of yourselves, it is a gift of God-- not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship... (Ephesians 2:8-9)

It is God's work, not our works. His effort, not ours. It is pure grace on God's part. Grace. Once we have received it from God we are to demonstrate it to others.

"Love people when they least expect it and least deserve it." That's how author and pastor Mark Batterson describes it. I like that. I like being on the receiving end of that. Demonstrating it to others I'm not so good about--but I want to be.

It is interesting that if you ask people to describe Christians you often hear words like arrogant, judgmental, hypocritical, fake, close-minded and mean. Jesus told his followers they would be known by their love (see John 13:34-35). We are to love God with every fiber of our being--our heart, soul, strength and mind--and love our neighbor as ourselves.

Loving our neighbors. That's the hard part. Love and grace. Loving people when they least expect it and least deserve it. Jesus was often condemned for being non-condemning, labeled a "friend of sinners", intended to be a verbal knife to the heart it became a badge of honor. It took on a whole new meaning when spoken by the fallen--the prostitutes and tax-collectors--as opposed to the faithful Pharisees who coined it as a insult.

If today we focus on being recipients of God's grace, and demonstrators of that grace, loving people when they least expect it and least deserve it, then we might become known as "friends of sinners". The faithful may condemn us for being non-condemning, but those in need of God's grace will find life in Jesus, as he writes his epic poem through our words and actions.