You Are God’s Masterpiece
Scripture — Isaiah 45:9 (NRSV)
Woe to you who strive with your Maker,
earthen vessels with the potter!
Does the clay say to the one who fashions it, “What are you making”?
or “Your work has no handles”?
Focus
Even as God is a potter shaping Israel, so God is forming us. And God is no amateur potter, but rather a true master. Thus, the New Living Translation appropriately translates Ephesians 2:10 by saying, “For we are God’s masterpiece.”
Devotion
In yesterday’s Life for Leaders devotion, I began reflecting on Isaiah 45:9, noting how tempting it is for us to become the “arguing clay pot” when God acts in ways we don’t understand or appreciate. Today I want to point out a glorious implication in this text, something we see even more fully in light of Christ.
In the context of Isaiah, God is the potter and Israel is the clay. God is molding Israel according to God’s own plans and purposes. What was once true of Israel is also true of us. God is the potter and we are the clay. God is in the process of shaping us, so that we might be everything we have been created to be.
In the New Testament book of Ephesians, we glimpse a moving picture of God’s grace. This grace not only saves us, but also remakes us. We see this most profoundly in Ephesians 2:8-10: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—not the result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.” We are saved by God’s grace and this salvation is not just life after death, but also a new way of living now. God’s grace renews and remakes us. By grace, we are God’s handiwork and God has wonderful things for us to do.
The New Living Translation renders Ephesians 2:10 in this way: “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.” “Masterpiece” is a creative translation of the Greek word poiema (which means “something that is made”). This translation captures a glorious truth about God’s work in our lives. God, you see, is no amateur potter making ugly or useless pots. Rather, God is an artisan who has already begun to shape us into something special.
God sees potential in you that you cannot envision. God has plans for you far beyond your expectations. God will use you to do more than you imagine if you are open to all that God would do in and through you. As we read in Ephesians 3:20-21, “Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”
Reflect
Do you ever think of yourself as God’s masterpiece? If so, why? If not, why not?
How is God shaping your life right now? Where is God smoothing rough edges? Where is God strengthening and polishing you?
What would you like to accomplish in your life as God works in you and through you?
Act
Set aside some time to reflect on how God has been shaping you. Talk with God about what you see, think, and feel.
Pray
Gracious God, what a marvel that I am your masterpiece. What a blessing! What a word of encouragement!
As you know, Lord, sometimes I don’t feel much like your masterpiece. I feel more like a lump of unformed or discarded clay. Yet the good news of the gospel is that, through Christ, I have been made new, and am in the process of being perfected by you.
O Lord, help me to join you in this process. I don’t want to impede your good work in me. May I become all you have envisioned me to be in this life, even as I wait for the perfecting of your work in the life to come. Amen.
Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the unique website of our partners, the Theology of Work Project. Reflection on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: God’s Grand Plan: A Theological Vision (Ephesians 1:1–3:21).
Mark D. Roberts
Senior Strategist
Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a Senior Strategist for Fuller’s Max De Pree Center for Leadership, where he focuses on the spiritual development and thriving of leaders. He is the principal writer of the daily devotional, Life for Leaders,...