Brushstrokes

 Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” John 13:7....."Our lives will be decided by what goes on in the small brush strokes, yielding either a masterpiece, or a mess." Andy Andrews

I think most of what Jesus does in our life is beyond our comprehension as He's doing it. We're always looking for great things, but He seems to do His best and most effective in the small things. When you think on it, the great events of life are not really what shape us. We're shaped and molded by the small ones, the small brush strokes that rarely stand out to the eye, but are central to the finished portrait.

The idea of God as our Master Craftsman is a common one. We know Him as the potter, shaping our clay on His wheel. We've likely heard reference to Him as the Master Sculptor, taking our ugly block of marble and shaping from it a work of beauty. Those are great analogies, but for me, I prefer to think of Him as the Master Artist, painting our lives on His canvas, and almost always in ways beyond our comprehension.

I can't think of many things that are more boring than sitting for a portrait. We're anxious for the finished work, but we have little patience for the process. We want the artist to get on with it, finish it up. Let us see the end result. Yet, a Master Artist would never allow themselves to be rushed. They know that the final beauty will be found in those small brush strokes. Those ones that blend exquisite colors and connect the greater parts of the portrait. Without them, the work would have no clarity, and would likely be discarded and despised by the one for whom it was done. So, we must allow the artist to complete his work, in his way, and in his time. So it is with the Father, as He uses the brush of His Holy Spirit to produce the portrait that is our life in Him. He bids us to be still and allow Him to paint His masterpiece through those small brush strokes and trust Him to be doing just that. Especially when every part of us screams for it to be done, over, and finished. If we refuse, the result will not be a masterpiece, but a mess. Our mess.

We are all of us, at varying points of applying His small brush strokes. Those strokes can produce a multitude of feelings and responses. Boredom, pain, anger, and more. We want to escape the process, He commands us to remain in place. A sudden move on our part can cause real damage to the work. Damage He can and will repair if we remain before Him, but damage that leaves a mess if we won't.

As the Father "paints" our lives, He will rarely tell us what He's doing, or how the work is progressing. Mostly, He'll be silent, and most, if not all of our questions to Him will be unanswered. What we feel and experience will likely encompass a very wide range of emotions and responses. All we may hear is His whisper, saying, "Trust Me." And we must. We must trust that He is indeed the Master of masters, the Supreme artist. The maker of masterpieces. And that's what we'll be as we submit to the brushstrokes. He will make no mess. That's our specialty. But if we will be still in the painting, we will be on display for all to see as another of His masterpieces. Unique from all the others, having a beauty like none other. And it will all depend upon how we respond to the brushstrokes.

Blessings,

Pastor O