Re-Created Masterpiece

Have you ever seen a re-created masterpiece? Some duplicates look remarkably like the original…at least to an unexperienced eye. However, to an expert and especially to the creator a re-creation is very easy to spot!
Ephesians 2:10 states, “For we are His creation, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them” (HCSB).
The New Living Translation quotes the verse this way, “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do good things he planned for us long ago.”
In Genesis, God is revealed as Creator. God created the world, and everything in it. He created people, His masterpieces, in His image and as image bearers they would be able to glorify God.
A masterpiece is not just thrown together. It takes patience, work and careful planning to create a masterpiece. God took special care when He created you. He created you with an individual personality to fuel your abilities and passions. Once you accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, you become a new creation in Christ Jesus. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come (2 Corinthians 5:17). This re-creation is not a knock off of the original. In this case, the new is superior to the old! When you are made into a new creation, you receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38). Through the Spirit, you are sealed in your salvation and you receive Spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12:7-11). These gifts are part of the equipping the Lord has given you to do good works. God has not only prepared good works, but he has also and assigned these good works…and some of them are assigned to you!
God desires that these works be completed by the person who was created and re-created to do them.Are you doing the good works God has gifted, prepared, and re-created you to do? Are you serving where God has prepared for you to serve? Are you ministering to those He has gifted you to reach? Are you working on the assignment God has prepared for you?
Your personality, background, disposition, and talents are unique to you! God will use your unique make-up to carry out individual assignments He has for you. As Paul says, the body of Christ is made up of various members (1 Cor. 12:12-27). And, how would the body function without all of the parts? When you are not working on the good works God created specifically for you, they either go incomplete or someone else attempts to complete them.
So, consider…Are you attempting to do works God has assigned to someone else? I’m sure you are doing all kinds of good works. Some, God has definitely prepared for you! He has equipped you and positioned you to glorify Him through this service. But, others were possibly prepared for another person. God only equips you to do the works assigned to you. He does not equip you to do the works he has prepared for others. Would you attempt to cut the grass with a rake? No! The rake does not have the ability to cut grass, but it has its own work to do. Likewise, you can’t adequately do the works of another. You have your own work, for which you are equipped. Can you water the grass without a hose? Sure, you can! You could water it using a bucket and water. It would be exhausting, but you could do it. It would be way more efficient to use a hose! It is the same when you are doing someone else’s good works. You become exhausted trying to do work that you are not fully equipped to do.
I encourage you to remember that you are uniquely created, and God has specific work for you. Your works will require your talents, gifts, experiences, personality…and everything else that makes you unique. They require you to be you!