For we are GOD'S workmanship

"For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in adance for us to do." Eph. 2:10

It was when I read the book A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 by Phillip Keller that my perspective of God changed from being the “God of Absolute Perfection” I discovered I was worshiping after reading the book by J.B. Phillips,Your God is Too Small. Keller opened my eyes to the tender relationship the shepherd has with his sheep—one I never dreamed God could have with me. I started looking at myself from God’s perspective and realized he loved me more than I could possibly imagine.

Keller writes:

He it was who was directly responsible for the creation of all things both natural and supernatural…

If we pause to reflect on the person of Christ – on His power and upon His achievements – suddenly like David we will be glad to state proudly, “The Lord – He is my Shepherd!”

But before we do this it helps to hold clearly in mind the particular part played upon our history by God the father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

God the Father is God the author – the originator of all that exists. It was in His mind, first, that all took shape.

God the Son, our Saviour, is God the artisan – the artist, the creator of all that exists. He brought into being all that had been originally formulated in His Father’s mind.

God the Holy Spirit is God the agent who presents these facts to both my mind and my spiritual understanding so that they become both real and relative to me as an individual.

Now the beautiful relationships given to us repeatedly in Scripture between God and man are those of a father to his children and a shepherd to his sheep. These concepts were first conceived in the mind of God our Father. They were made possible and practical through the work of Christ. They are confirmed and made real in me through the agency of the gracious Holy Spirit.

So when the simple – though sublime – statement is made by a man or woman that “The Lord is my shepherd,” it immediately implies a profound yet practical working relationship between a human being and his Maker.

It links a lump of common clay to divine destiny – it means a mere mortal becomes the cherished object of divine diligence.

This thought alone should stir my spirit, quicken my own sense of awareness, and lend enormous dignity to myself as an individual. To think that God in Christ is deeply concerned about me as a particular person” [that I am His workmanship] “immediately gives great purpose and enormous meaning to my short sojourn upon this planet.”

“For we are GOD'S workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”