We live in a culture where airbrushed images warp our reality. Many of us find it hard to like ourselves or view ourselves positively. It’s always easier to put someone down rather than build them up and that often includes ourselves.

Against all this negativity, God thinks we’re great! Genesis tells us we are made in his image, Psalm 139 declares we are fearfully and wonderfully made and in Ephesians 2 Paul lets us know that we are God’s workmanship – sometimes translated as his accomplishment, his handiwork, his masterpiece. It’s this last one that makes the biggest impact on me. The Greek word behind all these translations is poiema which literally means “work of art”. It is from poiema that we get the word ‘poem’.

Wow! You are God’s phenomenal work of art: a piece of sublime music that blows you away, a perfect poem that speaks straight to the heart. You are God’s masterpiece, the unique and awesome result of God’s creativity. Do you know that? Do you see how special you are to God? It means that you are more precious to God and important to this world than you think you are.

From 1508 to 1512 a human masterpiece took shape on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, but even before Michelangelo had finished, his work started to fade due to a layer of soot. It wasn’t until 1981 that a scaffold was erected to clean one corner of the fresco. With a special solution, two dedicated art restorers gently washed the painting. The result was stunning. No one had imagined that beneath centuries of grime lay such vibrant colours. The restorers were immediately commissioned to clean the entire ceiling, and though it took twice as long to restore than it took for Michelangelo to paint it, the results were breath-taking.

What does it mean that God views us as His masterpiece? It means that as we allow God to work on us today, we can uncover our unique beauty and ordained purpose for serving God here on earth.

Erik Rees wrote:

‘You were not created to conform. You were not created to compare. You were not created to compete. You were not created to compromise. You were created to contribute to God’s Kingdom and make a significant difference with your life.

You were created to just be you!’