Masterpiece

Mas・ter・piece    noun \ˈmas-tər-ˌpēs\ 1 :  a work done with extraordinary skill; especially :  a supreme intellectual or artistic achievement 2 :  a person’s greatest piece of work, as in an art. 3 :  anything done with masterly skill: a masterpiece of improvisation. 4 :  a consummate example of skill or excellence of any kind: The chef’s cake was a masterpiece.   I have never considered myself a connoisseur of art, although I have always admired it. My right brain has always marveled at anyone who can take a blank canvas, some random globs of paint and create a beautiful portrait or landscape. But because I lack the skill, my artistic preference has always been for those works that I find aesthetically pleasing, not that demonstrate the artist’s proficiency.  Let’s face it, one can’t appreciate skill unless one has a remote understanding of it. And when it comes to artistic endeavors, skill is something I am sorely lacking. Take sculpture for example. I was never really an enthusiast. All those half naked figures, with their blank eyes, carved in white. To me, color represented life and sculpture was lifeless. Until, one summer, I ventured to Italy and my eyes met this.

Instantly, I was blown away by the detail. The compressions in the skin where his hands held her, the muscles and veins visible in his legs. This was amazing! This was beyond anything I could possibly comprehend, let alone attempt. This artist was a master. I immediately imagined a room full of stone, dust flying as the artist painstakingly chiseled each and every detail of this particular sculpture. The tiresome hours, the aching hands. How much delicate work, how much determination, how much time does it take to turn the vision into the reality? Mind.Blown. This sculpture wasn’t created by an artist. This sculpture was created by a master. A masterpiece is determined, not just by the finished product, but by the skill of the one who creates it. If we view our lives as a work in progress, we cannot discount the skill of the One who is making us. The Author and Perfecter of our faith. Up close, life looks messy. The details of each day and season can seem monotonous. The highs and lows can leave us feeling like we are trapped under a pile of rocks, caught in a whirl of dust, just waiting for it to settle. Each struggle, every pain, just seems to add to the swirling mess we already feel we’re in. But when added by the Master, in the right time and space, it’s just another layer…a perfect detail, a splash of color. To the One who paints the portrait of our life, it’s a skillfully added stroke. A step closer to the finished product. When all we can see is mess, He sees the Masterpiece. We may or may not get a glimpse of the final outcome. If we carefully look back over our lives, we can see the portions that have been carefully crafted and contributed to where we are now. We see His hand. It’s this same hand that held the brush yesterday, holds it today, and will hold it tomorrow. Only when the Artist is finished, will he place his brush down, step back, and see that it is good. “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 (NLT)