TODAY’S READING: Ephesians 2:10
KEY VERSE:
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” EPH 2:10
I have never been good at anything artistic. I cannot colour in the lines; my drawings have often been compared to that of a five-year-old and you will not see any of my paintings hanging in a national gallery any time soon! I once received an invitation to a pottery class which I mistakenly accepted and proceeded to create misshapen and unusable pieces of pottery that were unsalvageable even for the pottery teacher. I certainly cannot claim to be a master craftsman.
One of my favourite parts of following Christ is that we entrust our lives to follow Him and ultimately allow Him to define the way we speak, spend, think and live. We place our lives into the hands of the master craftsman in the form of allowing Christ to shape our lives. Ephesians 2:10 shows us this so vividly.
Firstly, we should know that, “We are his workmanship”, not me on my own, or you on your own. Continuing the picture of the potter’s wheel, we are placed in His hands and as we partner with Him, we are shaped as He wills. I believe this is great news for every one of us. By nature, we all have our own thoughts of how our life should look; have a tendency to chase after the latest fad; conform to popular opinion and are led by the deceitful desires of our heart. We must be thankful that we find ourselves as clay in the hands of the master craftsman, the creator of the heavens and the earth. His shaping means our lives are defined with a heavenly stamp, not a worldly counterfeit. The more time we spend in the presence and hands of the master craftsmen, the more we begin to reflect Jesus, Himself.
Secondly, we are, “created in Christ Jesus for good works”. This gives us a great picture that we are a new creation found in the resurrection power which took us from death to life. Jeremiah 18 is a powerful piece of scripture which looks at a prophetic word from the potter’s house. Jeremiah 18:4 says, “But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so, the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him” (NIV). I read this scripture and it gives me great hope because we are recreated in Christ Jesus.
All of us started our journey of faith from a place of being dead in our sins; our lives ultimately falling apart and being tripped up by the on-going consequences of sinful living. What arrived in the master craftsman’s hands as a marred pot is now being reworked and shaped into what seems best to Him.
Finally, we are being reworked to walk in the works, “which God prepared beforehand”. We should be greatly encouraged that God has a plan and calling for our lives, far beyond what we ever would have accomplished or dreamed of on our own. We must simply allow the master craftsman’s hands to mould our life and respond daily to His shaping. Proverbs 16:3 gives us insight into this great exhortation, “Commit your work to the LORD, and your plans will be established”. I believe that as we commit our lives into the hands of the master craftsman, our character is transformed and we walk into the incredibly exciting, powerful and world-changing works the Lord has planned for us.
Lord, may I place my life in your hands today, trust you as my master craftsman and allow you to shape me and lead me into the great works you have planned for my life.
ACTION STEPS
• Read Ephesians 2:10
• As you pray today, ask God to shape you as He sees fit and declare your trust in the master craftsman’s hands.
• Write down how you used to live and the characteristics you previously had. Compare them to where you are now and give thanks for what Christ has done in your life.