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Tuesday, November 10, 2009

what a masterful work of art!

i watched my husband begin to clear our backyard of leaves this past weekend. he raked most of them in a pile and burned them. then he started up the riding lawn mower to give the grass one more good sweep to mulch up the leaves that remained. as i think back on it now, the john deere really did the work. aaron just sat on the seat and steered the rider in the direction that needed to be cared for.

whoever designed the riding tractor was brilliant and went to great lengths to have it created to work perfectly. it is a masterpiece among lawn tools, able to accomplish a great amount of work in a short period of time. but, the mower was not created to do what it does so brilliantly on its own. it was not created to self start and propel itself independently of an owner. beautifully crafted, with so much potential to accomplish so much, it is useful for nothing on its own. unless it is empowered by an owner, it will just sit there and do nothing except be jacob's play toy. but, united with an operator, great work can be accomplished. the beauty of it's accomplishment is displayed in our backyard. what a masterful work of art!

i see the work of Christ in our lives much the same. we are His creation. His work of art! His masterpiece! He went to great lengths, in Jesus, to bring about the ability for us to accomplish great things, to bring us into union with Himself through the Holy Spirit and empower us to radiate His glory in our lives. but, we were not created to do that on our own. we were not created to self start and propel our lives independently. we have been beautifully crafted and empowered by the Holy Spirit with the potential of such good works. but, we are useful for nothing on our own. unless we allow the Operator to start us up and guide us, we are accomplishing nothing. we can pretend to go and work physically, in our own ability, but spiritually, we are just sitting, doing no good thing and revealing no true beauty. ephesians 2:10 says, "for we are God's own handiwork (His masterpiece), recreated in Christ Jesus, that we may do those good works which God planned ahead of time for us that we should walk in them." we have been recreated in Christ Jesus, by the Holy Spirit, to accomplish the great work of displaying the glory of God and as we depend upon our union with Him and are empowered by His strength, His beauty will be displayed in our lives. we are the workmanship of God created to do great work as God empowers us and steers us in the direction that needs to be cared for. what a masterful work of art!




21 comments:

Cheesemakin' Mamma said...

I'll never look at my riding lawn mower the same!

Saleslady371 said...

I'm so glad the Holy Spirit gave you this teaching today. No matter how strong and capable we are, we just are us unless the power of God is anointing us to live and work for Him. Then we are really something in Him! I will always think of this now when my husband rides the mower. Excellent, Christy Rose.

love ya,
Mary

Karen said...

Amen...great analogy!

RCUBEs said...

I still remember that pic of your hubby steering the mower while your adorable son was sitting on his lap. It's amazing what the Lord would teach in simple tasks that we do...
What are we gonna' do if the Father didn't give His own Son to redeem us? What a disaster it would be just like a broken mower being eaten with rust. Great lesson! God bless.

septembermom said...

Your enthusiasm for your faith is wonderful. I love the picture of Christ playing with the kids on your sidebar.

Heart2Heart said...

Christy,

You never cease to amaze me at what you can write using everyday things and make it tie into God. You are truly blessed in this area. Oh how I wish I had a riding mower rather than your standard push one. I just don't have a lawn that would allow me to justify a big old riding mower.

Much love to you for stopping by and leaving me such great comments. Your prayer is greatly appreciated.

Love and Hugs ~ Kat

Wylie @ Shout A Joyful Noise! said...

Beautiful blog!
Joyfully,
Wylie

He & Me + 3 said...

This is an awesome post. I am so glad that He is the potter and I am the clay and one day I will be that beautiful pot...He is still working on me.

Mich said...

great thoughts!!!

Mocha Momma said...

What a cute and oh so true analogy!! Great job, Christy

I've missed you and your great writings and pictures of your kids.

Happy Veterans' Day,
Nannette

Jennifer @ JenniferDukesLee.com said...

What a fitting analogy for Christ's work within us. I loved this:

"we were not created to self start and propel our lives independently."

Beautiful, truly.

Darcie said...

I just know in my own life that I need to let him work more unhindered! Something I struggle with.

Thanks again for a heart felt post!

E @ Scottsville said...

Oh, great analogy Christy!!!

Deborah Ann said...

I love that your faith in God and love for family shines through here! Come visit me sometime...

Faith said...

Great analogy! I really enjoyed reading this Christy.....God bless you!!

Jennifer W. said...

I love how you take everyday situations and make them God situations!! Your analogies are great-you truly see God in everything.
Jen

Daveda said...

Masterful indeed! Great analogy Christy, we will accomplish nothing without Him!!

elaine @ peace for the journey said...

Just the thought of the yard work that awaits us in a couple of weeks is enough to set my nerves on edge. No John Deere's over here, just steady as she goes raking until it's done.

Perhaps, an apt metaphor for my spiritual life as well.

Steady as she goes!

peace~elaine

Jennifer {Studio JRU} said...

What a great post! We are His art, His masterpiece... such a wonderful thought. And because of that, we can accomplish such great things! :)

Loren said...

Wow! The anointing continues and I just praise the Lord everytime HE speaks to and through you my friend!

We are His creation and we each create and display according to how well we work WITH Him. I am ever so grateful for your display and your creation of Wisdom!
For your listening ears that hear so unbelievably!

Bless you my friend

Anonymous said...

Love it Christy. . . as usual!
Pat