A Masterpiece in Progress

Yesterday I watched a live news event of King Charles III of England meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican in Rome. In particular, they were in the Sistine Chapel with its famous ceiling painted by Michael Angelo in the 16th century. I was curious about how long it took to paint this amazing work of art.. The entire ceiling was covered in scenes from the book of Genesis. I looked up details to discover it took four years to complete the work.

I began to imagine, after just a month, someone may have come in to observe the painting and thought to themselves, “nothing special about that.” In sixth months the same thing might have been said. After a year someone could have said, “you can’t even tell what it is.” In another two years one might have declared, “looks much better.” When four years had passed, the completed work of art was seen as magnificent.

This reminded me of Philippians 1:6, when Paul wrote to the church in Philippi, and to all of us, I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. When we first come to Jesus, receiving the wonderful cleansing and forgiveness of our sins and the promise of eternal life with Him in Heaven, we are a work of art just begun. No doubt, still battling with the carnal nature within, perhaps still prone to bouts of anger, or a tongue that spoke unkindly, we may have been declared, “nothing special about that.” As the years passed, with us yielding ourselves to The Master Artist, the One who created the world, it can then be said of us, “looks much better.”

The longer we walk with Jesus, allowing the Holy Spirit to teach us, thereby, molding us into the image of Jesus, we begin to take on family resemblance. We are letting our light shine that others see Jesus in us (Matthew 5:16). Therefore, when demonic forces hiss their lies of, “you don’t look like anything special,” shout back, “My Father is still working on me! He’s not finished yet!” Then in peace and joy, walk on, allowing the Holy Spirit each day to do His work in your life, painting into your being the fruits of the Spirt — love, joy, peace, long-suffering,, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).

Do not allow self-loathing to take root. Do not entertain thoughts of giving up. Never consider for a moment anything the devil hisses at you. Instead, stay focused on Jesus, sitting still on His potter’s wheel, and breathe in His goodness with inner peace and joy. When He returns, taking us to be in His presence forever, we will then be a magnificent work of art. Until then, be thankful — He’s not finished yet.