One of my favorite passages in the Bible is found in Ephesians 2:1-10. While we were dead in our sins, God reached down and made us alive in Jesus! Only God could save us, and He did save us through the life, the death, and the resurrection of Jesus! That is good news for you and for me. That is good news that we should be overwhelmed by each and every day that we live. God, who is rich in mercy and full of grace, loves us so much that He would send His one and only Son to live for us and die for us. Paul goes on to tell us in Ephesians 2:8-10, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast. For WE ARE GOD'S HANDIWORK, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."
I've been thinking about this passage of Scripture a lot lately, especially the words, "WE ARE GOD'S HANDIWORK." My wife and I love our children; we thank God for our children. However, there are many times that we forget a very simple truth: Our children are GOD'S HANDIWORK. Think about this truth with me for just a moment. If we are not careful, we can very easily begin to idolize our children and their accomplishments. If we are not careful, we can very easily begin to use their lives and their accomplishments to glorify ourselves. This is dangerous for parents, and this is dangerous for children. Several years ago I wrote down a statement on a little piece of paper. I found it this morning on my desk, and this is what I wrote: "We are not God's trophies that sin on shelves collecting rust and dust. WE ARE GOD'S HANDIWORK, created to display His grace and express His kindness in a world that desperately needs to see Him and know Him intimately." Neither I, my wife, nor my children are trophies. We don't simply belong to each other; more importantly, we belong to God. Trophies are inanimate objects; they don't have life; they don't have spirit. Trophies lack movement and power. God created us in His image, and He breathed life into us. God created us for intimate relationship with Him, and He created us in Jesus to do good works that glorify Him.
Parents, let's remember that the children God has blessed us with belong to Him. Our children are GOD'S HANDIWORK and not our own. Our children are created to glorify God and not ourselves or themselves. And everyone, let's remember that all of us are GOD'S HANDIWORK. We all belong to Him, and everything we say and do should be for His glory and not our own. God loves us. God loves us so much that He has saved us from our sins so that we might have life - full and eternal! Never forget that WE ARE GOD'S HANDIWORK!
