Todays devotion is written by Mike Loveridge
Assistant Pastor of Manor Park Church
Psalm 139:14
“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”
I recently read the following story and it made me think of the verse above from Psalm 139.
There was once a young boy who built a model boat. He spent hours and hours cutting, gluing, painting and polishing. Days and weeks went by as he took care over every little detail, every delicate stroke of the brush. He loved his boat. He took it out to sail on the river every weekend and he was proud to tell admirers who commented on it, that he had made it from scratch! With his very own hands!
One day, something awful happened. As he was sitting back and watching the elegant ship glide over the water, a huge gust of wind came and swept it away! Before he could stand to his feet the boat was gone, it was way down the river and out of sight. The boy couldn’t even express his dismay.
A month or two later, the boy was walking into town and ventured past a toy shop and something in the window caught his eye. He could hardly believe it! His boat was in the display with the label “Sailing Masterpiece”! He ran in immediately and cried to the shop keeper, “That’s my boat! You found my boat!”
“What do you mean, little lad?” he replied, “The boat in the window?”
“Yes, that’s my boat! I made it myself!”
“Well I’m afraid you’ll have to buy it if you want it, that boat is for sale.”
The boy reached into his pocket and pulled out all the money he had, but it wasn’t even half of what the boat was priced at. After pleading and pleading he decided to go back home. It took him weeks to save up the money, even longer that it had taken him to make it! But the boy was determined. The moment he had the full amount, he ran to the shop, and to his delight he saw that it was still in the window. Not a moment was wasted in making the purchase, and as he walked off holding the ship in his arms, he whispered “I made you, I bought you, you are twice mine.”
This story speaks of our relationship to God in such a real way. In the creation story of Genesis 1, as God is creating, He describes His work as good. Then straight after creating mankind He describes His creation as very good. Mankind is the pinnacle of God’s creation and it’s what turns creation from good to very good. Each and every human being is God’s handiwork created in His image. Just as that boy poured love and care into creating his boat, God poured His love and care into us as He created us.
But then, just like the boat, we got lost. We are swept away by the desires of this world and end up far from our Creator, lost with no home. Don’t despair though! Just as the boy went searching for his boat, God came searching for us in the person of his Son, Jesus. When Jesus found us, He didn’t have the problem of not having enough money to purchase our salvation but it did cost him a huge price, his life. God made us, we got lost but then He won us back again through the cost of His one and only Son.
Being a masterpiece created by God is our identity. We are God’s sons and daughters, the pinnacle of his creation. That is how we should view ourselves but all too often it is easy for us to make judgements about ourselves, to be slaves to constant comparison with those around us. I am sure that there has been a time when you have looked at yourself – perhaps in the mirror, perhaps in the workplace, perhaps as a friend or parent or spouse - and called yourself something quite a bit less than a “masterpiece”. The more we look at ourselves through the lens of comparison and pick apart each tiny detail, the more we can find fault with ourselves and wish we were different.
How different would our lives be if we decided to look at ourselves the way God looks at us; if we tried to imagine the love that he feels for someone he not only created, but bought back? The Bible says that we are “fearfully and wonderfully made!” (Psalm 139 v 14). The God of the universe spent time and effort intricately designing every part of you! He put thought into your appearance, your ability, your likes and dislikes, your passions, your dreams. It is NOT too far to say that you are a masterpiece! You have been “created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for you to do” – not only are you MEANT to be the way you are, made exactly as you have been, but you have a PURPOSE as well!
So, the next time you think to yourself that someone else could do it better, or you wish you were different, think about these verses. Think about how God sees you. He made you, he bought you, you are twice his.
“You were bought at a high price; do not become slaves of human beings.” – 1 Corinthians 7:23.
Song for today:
Is “My Creator King’ you can listen and sing along to it here.
You who made the mountains and the sea
Measured out the universe and You made me
Echoes of the voice that called the worlds to be
Reach throughout the ages and now speak to me
You're my Creator King
You who made the valleys and the skies
Displayed Your love on far horizons and before my eyes
You who lit the stars and set the dawn in time
Called them all by name and now You whisper mine
You're my Creator King
Who am I that You are mindful of me? Yeah
Who am I that You sent Your love on me?
You're my Creator King
You who made the darkness and the light
Sun and moon to watch the day and guard the night
The hand that stretched the Heavens like a canopy
Reaches down to cover and watch over me
You're my Creator King
Prayer for today:
Loving heavenly Father,
We thank you that you are the awesome, powerful Creator of the universe and yet you intimately love and care for us. Thank you that you provide for our every need and especially for our need of salvation. We could never have earnt our way back, so we thank you for your grace and mercy expressed through Jesus.
We thank you that we are your handiwork and we ask today that we will be strengthened by your Holy Spirit to do the good works that you have prepared for us. Good works that display Christ to the world around us.
May we always know we are loved by you.
In Jesus’ name we pray,
Amen
Photo by Photo- to-Canvas.com on Unsplash
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