There is nothing more beautiful, yet more intimidating than a blank canvas. The emptiness, the purity, the possibility of it all, makes a painter both glad, and fearful! What can i do or what can i create is the question! Artists love blank canvases! I used to watch my mom oil paint and she would get a new canvas and just stare at it for a long time at different angles moving it around before ever placing any paint on it. It fascinated me because she was seeing something that I couldn't see. I am sure you have heard of the world-famous work of art called the Mona Lisa that was painted by the great Leonardo da Vinci. The painting is in fact so priceless that it is not even insured because the value for the painting cannot be assigned a number; it is inestimable. The Mona Lisa incredibly enough is displayed in a $7.5 million room of her own at the Louvre in Paris, France! I personally do not think this painting is nice or even pretty...what actually determines it's value in this world is the artist who created it.
Even a priceless painting like the Mona Lisa cannot compare to your own worth. Nothing on this earth that has been or ever will be created can match the worth of you! Ephesians 2:10 says, “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.” You are a masterpiece created by the greatest artist ever! Some days you may not feel like a masterpiece or may not even be treated as a masterpiece. However, the original artist knows exactly how incredibly valuable you are. Your worth is not determined by how you feel, how people see you, where you come from, how much money you make, how well you perform at certain tasks, how beautiful you are or any other outside factors. You see, you have already been bought with a high price. The ultimate price. Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Your worth is and forever will be untouchable but He doesn't want us kept in a private gallery shut out from the world. Some people leave their canvas empty because of fear....they want to keep their life and choices secret. Some have minimum brush strokes on them...they know how to act, what to say & how to look....they are copies or what thy call "prints"....not originals and not out on display. Our life canvas was meant to be filled, colorful and to be out in public. In order to be a light to the World we have to be willing to share our story...the good & bad. To be willing to show the places where we made mistakes and had to repaint or repair; the tears, pains, victories, failures and the things that make us laugh or cry. Our canvases were meant to get dirty. Not with the grime and smudges that I had before, but with the testimony of our life.
The “original artist” has His signature all over you. His fingerprints leave an imprint over every canvas he breathes his life into. And interestingly enough the Mona Lisa is not signed or dated like most famous paintings and it's said to be Leonardo's favorite. Since it's first public display around the 1530's it has been stolen, damaged by acid by an angry visitor, hit by rocks, faded by too much cleaning, warped and cracked by years of exposure to humidity and the elements. But still the painting is priceless and millions flock to Paris every year to catch a glimpse of the revered painting sitting in it's home encapsulated in bullet proof glass. How much more does our Father value us....His creations? No matter what your canvas of your life looks like today; even if your dirty, damaged and in need of a do-over.....we are all works-in-progress destined to be a designer original. --Jonna
