Living Art

“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 2:10).

Michelangelo’s sculptures express his genius, even to my untrained eyes. Shakespeare’s plays point to a master. Beethoven's symphonies suggest incomparable talent.

But, the words above, which are from the Bible say that, in some way, a person who follows the way of Jesus becomes a “masterpiece" crafted by God no less.

It says that in choosing to follow Jesus, something remarkable emerges--Living Art.

Is that true? I know I wore the Christian-tag for years and didn't really follow the ways of Jesus. I was missing the boat. But these past few years, I've been re-thinking what it means to for me be a Jesus-follower. I've been by reading the gospel stories about Jesus over and over. And I've been keeping my eyes on Jesus-followers who seem to be paying attention to the radical ways of Jesus.

And so when I read the verse above about being God's Living Art, I see it in Jesus. He lived art-fully and so do some people that I know.

So the verse seems to say something like this to me: “Look at the Jesus-followers you'v come to admire. Think about the difference God has made and keeps making in their lives. He started with their wrecked, busted, and broken lives. God found people stuck in lesser stories and led them into a better story. In it, God is crafting them. They are becoming something beautiful in God's hands as they choose to re-think Jesus and his ways.”