I tend to be a critical person. It is something I am aware of and working on. I’ve learned through hard lessons not to judge people, but nothing stopped me from directing that propensity inwardly. I was much harder on myself than others.
One day I was in the midst of berating myself when a picture came to my mind. Some people might call this a vision, or a drama played out in one’s head. You may say it is a work of the imagination. I simply believe it was from God.
I saw an artist’s studio during the time of the Renaissance. A young man walked up to a canvas that had been covered and flipped it over. He looked at the art work and began to critique it. The background was finished and revealed a beautiful countryside. The shape of a person was in the foreground but only the outline. I heard him criticize the painting, then leave.
I thought it was unfair of the young man to do. The painting wasn’t finished yet, and until it was, no one had the right to berate the artist’s work. The painting in progress was the Mona Lisa, worth millions in the future.
I realized at that moment I had committed the same offense. God was trying to show me that I was a masterpiece in the making and that He was the Master Painter. Whenever I’d cut myself down or judged others harshly it reflected on Him.
The Bible puts it this way…“Judge nothing before its time.” I Cor. 4:5 (NIV) When is the right time? In reference to our lives, I believe, it is when His work is completed in us. We don’t know what He is painting from our lives, so how can we judge it? What right do we have to critique someone else’s life? Paul said, “I don’t even judge myself.” I Cor. 4:3 (NIV) He had wisdom and put himself in God’s hands. The Lord knew him better than he knew himself.
David said it this way “Search me O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.”
This is a truth that has set me free: I am a masterpiece in progress and so are you.
"For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." Eph. 2:10
