You Are a Work of Art

I have loved discovering who i am and why God made me. This was originally published in Becoming: Identity 10 years ago. I have added and edited it. I think it reflects one of the major messages of my life.

The artist worked slowly, meticulously, lovingly.

He knew this would be a masterpiece.

Every stroke was intentional, every curve purposeful, every color enhancing.

Then came the unveiling day! The final birth pangs were challenging, but so worth it.

As she appeared and his eyes beheld her, he almost fell back, breathless. She was lovely,

astonishing, perfect.

Just exactly as he had envisioned.

A work of art!

Which is exactly how God sees us.

God’s vision for you

The psalmist gives us a glimpse of the amazing process of God designing each of us:

“For you created my inmost being;

   you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

    your works are wonderful,

    I know that full well.

My frame was not hidden from you

    when I was made in the secret place,

    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.

Your eyes saw my unformed body;

    all the days ordained for me were written in your book

    before one of them came to be.” (Psalm 139:13-16)

The apostle Paul reveals the outcome: “We are God’s handiwork (workmanship, work of

art, masterpiece).” Ephesians 2:10a

Design by God

So when you were being formed inside your mother, God Himself was there, designing you,

forming you according to His perfect plan. He created your shape, your personality, your

features, your temperament. He instilled gifts and abilities in you, infused you with aptitudes

and attitudes.

And the same for me. Personally, I’ve had some conversations with him about how He

made me. I’ve suggested that two more inches of height would have been so easy for Him

and so helpful for me. I could reach higher shelves and my feet would touch the floor in

most chairs. And I would really appreciate if I had just a little musical ability—an ear, a

voice, some rhythm. But no—none, nada.

But He did give me some great gifts—a strong will, a heart to encourage and exhort, courage to

speak up, and He gave me words—to speak and to write.

And God was pleased. He was so pleased that, when I was born, He said, “Look at her!

She’s exactly what I had in mind! She’s a work of art, a masterpiece.”

That’s also what He said about you. With all the abilities and tendencies and strengths and

weaknesses He wove into your being, when you were born, He cried out: “Look at her!

She’s exactly what I had in mind! She’s a work of art, a masterpiece.”

But He didn’t make us just to hold us up and admire us, or to put us on a shelf to display

His great creativity. He made us on purpose, for His purposes.

Each of us.

God—artist and storyteller

An artist usually creates for the beauty she portrays. Sometimes she has additional purposes:

to proclaim a message or present a perspective or to share her love of someone or

something.

Our God is not only an artist. He is a storyteller—writing your story and mine in His book

of the lives of His children. He tells us He has purposes for all of us and each of us. I

believe He had three primary purposes in creating us.

One purpose for which God created you and me is described in the second half of

Ephesians 2:10: to do the good works He has already prepared for us. “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:10)

The second and third purposes, which we will explore shortly, are for all of us. But this

purpose is unique to each of us. God has designed specific assignments for you and for me.

So the next question is, how do we find out what those good works are?

Who am I and why am I here?

When my children were young, one of my favorite stories to read to them was Flutterby, by

Stephen Cosgrove and Robin James…. See why:

“In a burst of laughter and moonshine one fine and beautiful evening, Flutterby was born.f As her silver-blue cocoon shimmered in the starlight, she unfurled her wings and whinnied at the crystal night.”

For, you see, Flutterby was not a common bug or butterfly, but rather a smallest of small, winged, white flying horse.

This is the story of Flutterby discovering who she was and what she was supposed to do.

Flying as high as she could fly, and looking as far as she could look, Flutterby thought

perhaps she was an ant, then a honeybee, then a butterfly. But each time, the ants, bees and

butterflies assured her she was not one of them.

Sound familiar?  Who am I?  What am I supposed to do?

We get an education to prepare to be and do what we are meant to be and do. We change

majors and even schools. Then we are thrust out into the world, like Flutterby, wondering…

We try to find our fit, or to fit in. We succeed a little, we fail a little. We watch our friends

with envy. We take tests and assessments. Time flies. Still we seek answers: fWho am I and

what am I supposed to do?

When Flutterby found no answers, she wept.  A wise old Monarch butterfly listened to her story. “You are you,” he said.  ”You have strong wings to fly so high. You should be the Guardian Sentry of Fall. You must watch for the approach of the winds of frost and warn the ants and bees and butterflies so they can hide from the winter.”

God reminds us that He was there when we were made. Anticipating our Flutterby

questions, He said, “I’ve already prepared the things I want you to do. I made you for a

purpose, and I will show you who you are and what you are supposed to do.”

Discovering God’s purposes

I am sure God is not trying to hide His purposes for me or for you. But they are rarely

offered on a platter or in a quick text message. I have found—in 60 years of serving in

ministry—that, as I walk with God, He unveils little by little who I am and what I am to do.

It’s a journey. Most twenty-somethings think they know themselves pretty well, but they are

just beginning. Who I am and what I am to do unfold together, evolving as I gain

experience and maturity.

But there are plenty of foreshadowings early in life.

As we do different activities, which do we love and which do we not love? What comes

easily, and what is more challenging? What satisfies and what seems not so meaningful?

One of the benefits of living a long time is clarity. I have a pretty good idea of who I am and

what I was designed to do.

I’ve had a lot of help along the way: many experiences and opportunities, good people to

speak into my life, assessments and training. So I’m confident—though still learning and

growing—about God’s personal mission for me: To encourage God’s children to trust Him

to enable them to become and do all He created them for.

That’s just a summary statement. How that is lived out has varied over the

years—sometimes in writing, other times in reading to my children, later in speaking and in

many conversations. This I know:  I am most fulfilled when I see other people discover

who God made them to be and to do what He wants them to do.

Some helpful questions

Here are some questions that I have found especially helpful in discerning what God has

designed me to do, in discovering my personal mission:

What are some natural abilities you have? Acquired skills? Spiritual gifts?

What are some core values in your life?

What are one or two things you are passionate about?

What activities have given you joy and satisfaction?

When have you felt most “useful”?

What matters most to you in this season of life?

What are some dreams for the rest of your life?

And I am sure of this: He is happiest when He sees us being and doing what He created us

for.

Displaying His splendor

Yet as wonderful as God’s specific plans for us are, He has even higher purposes for us. We

understand these from Genesis 1: “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image

of God he created them; male and female he created them.” (v 27)

God’s reveals a second purpose in making you and me was to show what He is like:

He made us to reflect Him to the created world they inhabited, but also to the rest of

creation and to the spirit world. Consider these words of God’s desire:

“…that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the

freedom and glory of the children of God.” (Romans 8:21)

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” (1

Corinthians 10:31)

“He said to me, ‘You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will display my splendor.’” (Isaiah 49:3)

“…and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty

instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a

spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the

display of his splendor.” (Isaiah 61:3)

I am astonished at such a calling: to be the display of His splendor! To reflect His glory!

How can that be? What a miraculous grace!

A higher purpose

But there is more! You see, He loves and treasures you and me. And perhaps His highest

purpose in creating us was to have someone to be with, to love, to be in relationship

with.

He noted that Adam had only the animals and creatures God had made, but no one like

himself, so He created a companion, someone like himself. In the same way, God desired

to have someone like Himself. Listen to these words of love He speaks:

“ The LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in

you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.”

(Zephaniah 3:17)

“May you feel cords of lovingkindness as the Father bends down to feed you.” (Hosea 11:4)

“For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear

him…” (Ps 103:9)

“For the LORD has chosen Jacob to be his own, Israel to be his treasured possession.” (Psalm

135:4)

He loves us! He loves you and He loves me and He loves to be with us!!

Equally important to understanding what kinds of things God seems to have prepared you

for is to walk closely with Him, to listen and observe how He is leading you, and to seek to

do what He says.

So, as you come to significant decisions about next steps, about where God’s next good

works for you will be, make your first priority to walk with God closely and continually.

This helps assure that you listen to God’s thoughts, not your own. It allows you to receive

ongoing and progressive leading from God. God’s plans don’t usually become clear and

complete all at once. And staying close to Him qualifies you to receive God’s opportunities

and blessings (2 Chronicles 16:9).

Pray specifically for God to reveal His will. You are promised in James 1:5 that, if you ask

for wisdom, God will give it to you generously. He will make sure you know what He wants

you to do, and those opportunities will encompass the passions and strengths He gave you

back at your day of creation.

Live out your story

As you do this, you will live out the story God is writing for you, fulfilling the

purposes for which He created you.

Let me close with one of my favorite stories:

“Over the camels was Obil the Ishmaelite.”  (1 Chronicles 27:30)

Scripture is filled with the names of great leaders, mighty heroes and wicked villains in God’s story of his love for you and me. But it also contains the names of many ordinary people—like Obil, who was over the camels, also a beautiful creation of our God.

Your name may not be in Scripture, but it is recorded in God’s book. In fact, I am sure that your story and my story are being recorded day by day in our own books of the life God created us for.

Surely your story begins with that careful designing and weaving in your mother’s womb. The date of your physical birth is starred. And I imagine the dreams and plans God has for you are woven throughout.

The day of your spiritual birth, when your name was written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, has all the marks of a great heavenly celebration. He recounts the ways He has sought to demonstrate His love for you. He describes the treasure and joy you are to Him. He records His pleasure in time spent with you, in watching you grow into the person He made you to be, in your discovery of your gifts and strengths, in seeing you obey even the difficult things He asks of you.

He loves how you display His splendor. And throughout the pages of your book are the stories of your doing the good works for which He created you:  the time you encouraged a despondent friend, when you loved that rather unlovable person, the day you told a friend how to know Jesus, your care for your sick child or elderly parent, the way you do your job for His glory.

Sometimes it may feel like you are stuck with being  ”over the camels,” and other times you seem to soar in the confidence and significance of what you are doing. Often you say yes to His requests, but occasionally you say no. Sometimes you feel like a great success, other times like an utter failure.  

All these times are written in the story of your life.  God calls us to faithful obedience to discover and pursue and fulfill His good plans for us. He loves what He has written so far—and He is eager to unveil the pages to come.

Even when it means caring for the camels.

C2024 Judy Douglass

Revised from article in Becoming: Identity

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