“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”— Ephesians 2:10 (NLT).
Until a neighbor posted the following on social media, I’d planned to toss the small wood scraps from a project still under construction in my backyard:
With spring coming and people cleaning, getting rid of things and sprucing up, I wanted to see if anyone ends up wanting to toss empty paint cans, furniture you want to get rid of or any wood items. I would love to take them off your hands! I am doing a lot of upcycling projects and items like these are perfect. So, if you plan on throwing any of this away let me know I would love to take it!
When I contacted Montana, she was delighted to take the scraps off my hands. She then shared her “upcycling” ideas with me. I was amazed at her creative ideas and can’t wait to see the masterpiece she will create with the wood scraps.
Upcycling vs. Recycling
While people often use upcycling and recycling interchangeably, technically, they are different. Upcycling is about improving and reclaiming an item to create an object of greater value. Recycling means to break down materials from a discarded item and process or manufacture into new products.
I recycle plastic, cardboard, paper, and aluminum at our town’s recycling center. Instead of ending up in a landfill, the items will be made into different usable products.
I’ve also upcycled by purchasing furniture at garage sales and updating the items with paint and new trim. Nothing as creative as Montana’s masterpiece projects.
Our Creative God
Our God is the ultimate Creator. Just read Genesis. But He didn’t stop there. Because of sin, God requires us to be born anew if we are to enter His Kingdom.
In John 3, Jesus teaches about this new birth. It’s something God does for us if we yield ourselves to Him, putting our faith and trust in Christ. We can’t accomplish that without Him.
While the ugly caterpillar can spin a silky cocoon and later emerge as a beautiful butterfly, we can only emerge as a new person when we surrender our sinful ways to become a member of God’s family.
When We Surrender
When we surrender our lives to Christ, He gives us a robe of hope—a new life in Him. We can let go of our discouragement, unhappiness, guilt, confusion, and depression and find new life in Him.
In His devotional Hope for Each Day, Billy Graham wrote: “One of the most glorious truths about coming to Christ is that we don’t have to be who we’ve been in the past. We are not repurposed versions of our old selves. We are brand new creations (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Brand new creations. Not recycled. Not upcycled, but brand new. We are His masterpiece.
Love this, Carol. When I taught 2nd grade, our spring science lessons included having caterpillars and watching them make their cocoons and eventually emerge as beautiful butterflies which we would then release. Such a great lesson of how that differs from us as we can only emerge new if we surrender completely to God. Great lesson!
Thank you, Dali! I appreciate your response. I’m sure your second graders loved that science lesson. I was inspired by the Holy Spirit when it came to this post. After my neighbor picked up the wood scraps, I started thinking about upcycling and recycling and then came across the Billy Graham quote. I am always amazed at how God uses things like that to lead me to write a blog post. God is so good!
Amen. We are His masterpiece. Have a glorious and blessed day! 🙂
Yes, we are, Melissa! Thanks for stopping by to leave me a message after reading my post. I appreciate it! I pray your day overflows with God’s blessings. Hallelujah!!
Thank you for this beautiful post.
Thank you, Denise, for the comment. I always appreciate feedback from my readers. It affirms I am listening to God’s Holy Spirit when I write. Blessings always!!
This was a beautiful read. I like to use these comparisons and metaphors when teaching about creativity. What we sometimes label as “trash” or “negative” can be transformed into some beautiful 🌟
Thank you, Vanessa! You are so right and God can transform our messes into His message–something beautiful! Blessings always!!