WHEN LEONARDO DAVINCI PAINTED THE MONA LISA, HE HAD NO WAY OF KNOWING HOW SIGNIFICANT HIS WORK WOULD BE. HE WAS SIMPLY A FAITHFUL SERVANT TO HIS CRAFT, CAREFULLY RECORDING EVERY DETAIL OF HIS SUBJECT'S FACE. IT IS HER EXPRESSION THAT MAKES THE PAINTING SO POWERFUL~IN IT WE SEE A VAST RANGE OF EMOTIONS.
Do you ever wonder what a portrait of you would reveal? If an honest and talented artist painted you, what would the world see? Integrity, courage, and conviction? Or dishonesty, fear, and doubt? Most people live behind a facade of sorts-not unlike the portraits hanging in museums-that reveals only a part of who they are. Afraid of rejection, they hide their defects from the world and even from themselves.
Thankfully, there is one person-The One who matters most-who sees all of our flaws and failures but loves us completely the way we are. Just as daVinci saw the inner beauty of the subject he painted, our Father sees in each of His children the redemption and promise won by His Son at Calvary. You are His masterpiece, a work created in grace and love. And if you allow Him to, He will paint the colors of your life in a way that glorifies Him. "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them" ( Ephesians 2:10).
By God's loving grace, we were each created to be the image of Christ in a lost world. Though our lives, from a human perspective, are still on the canvas, God has seen the final portrait. He sees eternity, and He knows exactly which parts of our lives need His greatest attention. Every frustration, every disappointment, and every joy has a purpose. He causes all things to work together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28)
For many, this is a hard concept to grasp. You may see your life as a series of mistakes and disappointments or a hard race in which you are falling behind. But God views you from a totally different perspective. When He sees your life, He sees a person of worth and great promise.
In our technologically driven world, it is not unusual to meet people who base their lives more on television and entertainment than reality. I meet people regularly who strive to achieve the looks, personality, and lifestyle of a celebrity they admire. But the rich and famous people we see on the big screen are only characters created for our entertainment by a group of talented writers, actors, and directors. Tragically, many people fail to realize this and spend their entire lives striving after something that doesn't even exist. They turn to money and friends for the fulfillment only God can offer and are disillusioned when they feel empty inside.
Contentment in a material sense does not guarantee that the inner hunger residing deep within our souls will be satisfied. This is because true fulfillment does not come as a result of owning a large home, driving a new car, or having money in the bank; it is the result of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Some of the richest people in the world are the loneliest. They use their money to travel and buy all that their hearts desire, but their search for genuine happiness continues. Solomon wrote, "I enlarged my works: I built houses for myself, I planted vineyards for myself; I made gardens and parks for myself and I planted in them all kinds of fruit trees; . . . I collected for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces . . . Then I became great and increased more than all who preceded me in Jerusalem . . . All that my eyes desired I did not refuse them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure, for my heart was pleased because of all my labor and this was my reward . . . Thus I considered all my activities which my hands had done and the labor which I had exerted, and behold all was vanity and striving after wind and there was no profit under the sun" (Ecclesiastes 2:4-11).?/font>
Life at its best is not without trouble and pain, but rather it encompasses the fullness of experiences that lead to a deeper wisdom and knowledge of God's grace. Through the challenges of life, our heavenly Father teaches us, directs us, and shapes us into truly glorious people. Solomon wrote: "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and turn away from evil" (Proverbs 3:5-7).
When we place our trust in Christ, we essentially abandon ourselves to Him and willingly let go of the things that captivate our fleshly attention. We agree with God that we are to resist the temptation to get caught up in the fray of our society.
Material possessions, financial security, and relationships cannot fill the deep, unsettling voids that accompany life. Jesus realized that the powerful hunger in our hearts yields easily to selfish desires. This is why He told His disciples to "seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you" (Matthew 6:33).
Everything you will ever need is already yours in Jesus Christ. Giving yourself to Him does not mean you will come out with less. It means you will come out with the best. When we give ourselves to God, He always gives much more in return. However, His dividends may not include owning a house at the beach, a mountain cottage, and a home in the city. Some of the happiest people I have known have less than those around them, yet they are spiritually wealthy because they have learned to place their trust in something that can never be taken away뾞 loving relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. (Luke 10:42)
You may be a Christian who attends church faithfully, prays daily, and even gives generously. Yet if you place confidence in your own intellect and power instead of trusting God, you are standing in the way of His highest blessing for your life. Regardless of how we appear to others, God sees every aspect of us. He knows what the person behind the fa?de looks like.
He sees your life from beginning to end and, because He loves you, He works all things in and through your life for His glory. Many times, what seems painful to you on the outside is really God working on the inside to bring you to the end of yourself and ultimately closer to Him. His primary goal is not to make you great, but to love you greatly, to experience intimate fellowship with you, and to prepare you for eternity.
You are His masterpiece, and He has given His Word as a testimony to the love and joy He has for you. Zephaniah 3:17 says: "The LORD your God is in your midst, a victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy."
God rejoices over you, though He knows your life is still in the process of becoming all that He has planned뾲hough you are not yet what you will be when you step into His eternal presence. Until that time, He is shaping your life, conforming you to the image of His Son.
Amid the uncertainty and pressures that surround you, Jesus is at your side to strengthen and encourage. When your eyes are fixed on Him rather than on the world around you, you begin to see life differently. Instead of striving to live up to others' standards, allow the Holy Spirit to teach you to dwell on the things of God, which are pure and honoring to Christ.
This does not mean that you won't feel rejection or loneliness. Jesus felt these, and yet the goal of accomplishing the Father's will was always before Him. He knew that in order to complete His mission, He would have to endure the trials of life. For Jesus, this meant the Cross and physical death.
You can walk in victory because Jesus is your example and His Spirit lives in you. How could He possibly bear the weight of all our sins and still remain victorious? God had given Him an eternal perspective; He saw the resurrection as a completed fact. And after three days, He rose to walk in victory. This is the same strength and power God gives you through the presence of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 8:11)
God uses every frustration, fear, and feeling of hopelessness like colors on an artist's palette to move your life toward completion. Hardship, however difficult, reminds us of our need for the Father and chases us to Him, where we belong. One day you will see the wonder and splendor of God's work and will understand the purpose behind each of your trials. Like an artist blending both dark and light colors to achieve a beautiful portrait, He will work in your life to create a great masterpiece.