The Father's Poem

I've been thinking about a verse that sometimes gets neglected because of the two verses that precede it. Ephesians 2:8,9 says,

"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,  not a result of works, so that no one may boast."

These are critical verses in  understanding the relationship  between grace, faith, and salvation. But the next verse, often omitted, is critical in understanding who we are as God's creation. It says,
"For we are his workmanship,..." The word 'workmanship' can mislead us. It can give us the impression that God was toiling,  hard at work when He created you and me, hardly enjoying the process. This couldn't be further from the truth .Recently I attended a conference where Len Sweet was a speaker and he pointed out that creation is the result of a Creator at play, not work.  Think about it, when are we most creative? We are far more creative when we are free from the pressures of work. It has been said that if one enjoys what they do, they will never work a day in their life. You see, in the original language the word 'poiema' is used. This is the same word from which we get the English word  'poem'. This is huge. We are the lyric written by the Master lyricist and we are the result of His playful creativity. Any true artist will tell you that their masterpiece was a labor of love and enjoyment. None of us are an accident. The reality of our birth means that we are the product of God's labor of love. He created us with aptitudes, personalities, gifts and environments that are unique to each one.

Since God wrote the lyric that is each one of us, I think He gives us the freedom to supply the tune by our attitudes, word, and actions . A song's tune can make the difference between a song that brings people joyful tears or one that is painful to listen to. We have all heard the national anthem sung done by professional musicians and jr. high choirs. One is generally much easier to listen to than the other.

When I look at my own life I see times when  the tune I supplied was angry, or without hope, or sad, or confused or defeated. My life was out of tune. It doesn't matter how beautiful the lyric, or how perfect the tune fits the lyric,if it is sung out of tune, it is difficult to listen to.These times didn't reflect the faith I professed. As I practice with the Master as my teacher, I sing more and more on-key and my life sounds more of contentment, hope, joy, victory and trust. Maybe you can relate.


It is amazing to me that He wrote the lyric of our lives for His pleasure, purpose and enjoyment. Like the parent of the novice musician beams with pride and joy at the recital even when there are missed notes, so our heavenly Father beams with the same as He hears the recital which is our life. He is not surprised by our missed notes and being off key at times. He knows that it gets better with time and practice. Most of all He knows that there is coming a day when the tunes of all of those who love Him will blend in perfect harmony as we sing His praise before His throne. How cool is that!!!