{Truth Reminders} Whose I Am #1

I Am...

His Workmanship

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 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, 

which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

(Ephesians 2:10)

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Introduction

When I look into the mirror, it's easy to see all my flaws - the wrinkles on my forehead, the freckles from even a little bit of sun exposure, the one eyelid that droops whenever my eyes are open, the birthmark still occasionally noticeable on the side of my face, the discolored teeth from years of dental work.  I frown at my flawed appearance and new wrinkles appear around my eyes, soon to be permanently etched on my face if I continue to see myself with eyes of flesh...instead of the eyes of faith in the One who fearfully and wonderfully made me with a beautiful purpose in mind. 

But, how do I see myself as He does...unless my eyes are fixed on the truths He mirrored with His life and wrote down on the pages of the bible collecting dust on my nightstand?

Today, I'm beginning a journey to claim for myself the truths He has written for me of who I am in Him.  Because, the only way to concur the lies the mirror on the wall exposes is to take hold of His words and whisper them over and over until they are permanently etched on my heart.  Won't you join me...to know and believe the truths He has written for you?

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Whose I Am #1: His Workmanship

I remember sitting in the hard wooden chairs of a college classroom listening to my philosophy professor leading a discussion about the basic human questions we all have.  The question "Who am I?" rattled around in my mind long after the class discussion had commenced and I began to wonder how I could really know the answer to that question beyond mere musings and wanderings of my own mind.  I wrote down my answer to the best of my ability to pass the class...but how do I find and claim the real answer that matters for all eternity?

I lift my eyes up to the only One who really knows all the answers and listen for His still, small voice to calm the storm of wondering in my mind and heal the broken pieces of lies I've believed about myself for far too long.  He leads me to His words, right in the middle of a book He used in the midst of my college days to grow me and change me into the new creation He meant me to be.  I can still picture my friend, Regan, speaking these words from memory, verse after verse, with such passion and emotion.  I had never before heard His words spoken so beautifully and tenderly.  As I listened, I was filled with a deep longing for more and God satisfied my desire with bold preaching and wise teaching week after week. 

Years later, I need to return to those truths, to take hold of who He says I am, once and for all.  And so, I read the words of Ephesians 2:10 and remember that He desires not only to save me from sin but to make something beautiful in me.  The word "workmanship" here is the Greek word, "poiema", meaning a work of art of a beautiful poem.  God desires to take me just as I am, broken pieces and all, and create a beautiful work of art in my life...not because I am good or even worth it, but because He loves and He gives freely and without conditions.  

I love how David Guzik's commentary explains this truth:

"God's love is a transforming love.  It meets us right where we are at, but when we receive this love it always takes us where we should be going.  The love of God that saves my soul will also change my life."

His love captivates and frees, creating beauty out of my mess, because even before His hands carefully crafted me in the secret of my mother's womb, He knew what He wanted to accomplish in me.  No matter how much I fall short and wander away, He can and will take my life and make me new.

"And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ." (Philippians 1:6)

"for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure." (Philippians 2:13)

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come."  (2 Corinthians 5:17)

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You're Invited!

Join me on Mondays on a journey to discover and take hold of the truth of who we are in Him.