A Masterpiece
This is my last post in a series on how we are branded, brand others, and even brand God in our relationships. The first posts are “Relationships Are Tough”, “Self Branding”, “The Brand Experience”, and “Maverick” .
This series of posts is on our relationships – our relationships with each other, with God, and with ourselves. Through this series of posts, I reviewed a fairly boring subject for most people, though I do not mean to offend anyone who finds the subject of branding riveting, or on some level, exhilarating. Certainly, there are people who make their living off of branding, brand management, and the marketing strategies centered on trademarks and brands. I think I caught some of their excitement in my research on branding, which is why the subject filtered through these posts.
I believe the Lord is using the subject of branding to help me, and maybe you, realize the value He establishes in each of us. This is not new to me. I know the Lord values each of us. You, most likely, also have this understanding. Yet like everything academic, I am learning how to apply this knowledge and understanding to my life.
It is all in the application.
There are so many ways to look at our value, but we only need to look at the Cross to gain an understanding of how the Lord values us. The Cross is a powerful statement. The Cross gives us a glimpse of God’s character and personality, while expressing the fullness of His love for us. However, for some, the Cross is a stumbling point where the entire concept of God giving all that He is so we can be all that we are is overpowering and a hard concept to grasp. Some struggle with the idea of a bloody Jesus hanging on the Cross, or even a clean, well-groomed Jesus hanging on the Cross. For those who receive very little in life from those around them, to receive so much from Someone like God is overwhelming and sometimes too much of a leap to overcome. Even a good understanding of the Cross is laced with a lack of comprehension to the depth the Cross impacts our lives.
We tend to blend in with the world. We find this natural and sometimes easier to accept. This is like a bad brand name. Seth Godin explains the concept of a bad brand name in his blog post, “A Dumb Brand Strategy”. He writes, “Jewelry Central is a really bad brand name. So are Party Land, Computer World, Modem Village, House of Socks, and Toupee Town. It’s a bad brand name because Central or Land or World are meaningless. They add absolutely no value to your story, they mean nothing and they are interchangeable…. It’s just generic.”
When a marketer uses a bad brand name, the value of the product or brand blends in with the rest of shelf. When the marketer fails to recognize the value, how can anyone else? When we fail to recognize our own value, we give others few choices with which to work. We become generic, bottom shelf, and cheap. We might try to change the package of the product, put on some color, and improve our outward appearance, but we are not going to change the value rooted in our hearts – that is to say, a cheap product in expensive packaging is still a cheap product.
God does not see us this way. Who are we to disagree with God?
Have you ever had a pebble strike your windshield and create a little divot or pockmark in the glass? If you don’t get it fixed within the first week, it actually starts to disappear. Oh, it is still there, but for some reason you stop seeing it. You get in your car, drive to work, school, or run your errands, and completely miss the blemish. The mark becomes invisible to you until a passenger hops in your car and asks, “How did that happen?” You may have to take a moment to realize to what the passenger is referring, and then you may forget how long the glass divot has been there.
What we see or don’t see everyday gets lost in our perception of reality.
Our perception of reality may cause us to see ourselves as generic, with no value, or to overlook damage, hurts, or pain. This same perception of reality may cause us to see others as generic, with no value, yet rarely do we overlook their damage, hurts, or pain. We are like the passenger getting into your car and pointing out your glass pockmark, and you can be sure we will tell others about it once we get out of your car.
This is not the reality God intended for us. I referred to the Garden of Eden in my first post in this series, and I return there now to find the perfect unity God designed in our relationship with Him and with others. Genesis 1:27, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” We are created in His image and in His likeness, and when it comes to relationships, Jesus tells us of the unity of this likeness and image in John 17:22-23. This passage is clear in illustrating the reality God intended for us with, “I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”
God does not see us as generic. He would not want unity with someone or something having no value. Instead, He wants us in unity and a relationship with Him to the point where we are one with Him. Our value is instantly established in God.
God does see our damage, our hurts, or our pain. Just as Jesus was restored after His death, so is His desire with each of us. He desires for us to be restored in many ways: physically, emotionally, spiritually, relationally, and in ways beyond our comprehension.
Think of one of your highly valuable possessions. How do you take care of it? If it is broken, do you fix it? If it is dirty, do you clean it? How much more will God take care of you, whom He values more than anything we could ever possess?
Ephesians 2:10 tells us, “For we are God’s workmanship…” The New Living Translation says it in another way, “For we are God’s masterpiece…” When I look in the mirror, it is difficult to see God’s masterpiece under the chubby belly, scars, zits, pockmarks, greasy hair, and stupid grin, but God’s eyes are not limited like mine. He sees what I cannot see. God does not see what you or I see when we look in the mirror or at others.
When Michelangelo was interviewed and asked about his work on the statue David, it is said he replied, “I just looked at the marble and got rid of whatever was not David.” Whether this is true or legend, it provides a good illustration of how God sees each of us. Michelangelo saw a masterpiece in a very generic piece of marble, and worked to get rid of what did not belong. God sees a masterpiece in what otherwise might be considered generic, and is working to get rid of what does not belong.
- Do you think of yourself as generic, plain, or without value?
- Do you hide your emotional pain and unforgiveness?
- Do you overlook your hurting relationships?
- Have you gotten so used to the pockmarks in your heart that it is creating callousness?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, you should know Scripture gives you an answer to seeing yourself in another way. Besides all the commonly quoted Scripture you have read from John 3:16, in Romans, and other verses supporting this concept, I find the verses in Matthew 13:15-16 and Acts 28:26-28 (both the same) to speak to this situation so well.
“For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’ “Therefore I want you to know that God’s salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!”
God sees you as His masterpiece. He has established your value, and wants to get rid of what does not belong. The pain, the hurt, and the unforgiveness have no room in His masterpiece. The above verses tell us to see with our eyes (search out His Word), hear with our ears (listen in prayer and to sound Biblical instruction), to understand with our hearts (believe), and turn to Him as our Creator, and what will He do? He will heal us.
- Do you think of yourself as generic, plain, or without value?
- Do you hide your emotional pain and unforgiveness?
- Do you overlook your hurting relationships?
- Have you gotten so used to the pockmarks in your heart that it is creating callousness?
If you answered yes to these any of questions again, let’s pray together. If you have read the prayers in the earlier posts instead of saying them, this time say the prayer – whether in a whisper or spoken word, say the prayer out loud. (I know, God hears prayers you think and prayers don’t have to be verbal and prayers can be thought prayers and all the other reasons for not saying the prayer, but I’m not stating this is the only way to pray. I’m suggesting for this prayer, for this time, for this exercise, you say the prayer instead of just reading it).
“Lord Jesus, You are the One who has made me valuable. You created me, made me for a purpose, and died for me on the Cross. You have made me more than generic, worth more than marble, worth more than precious gems or jewels – you paid for me with Your life and therefore made me priceless. Lord, I confess I am hurt. Lord, I confess I have been hurt by others. And, Lord, in turn I have hurt others and caused others pain. I have been manipulated. I have treated others unfairly and considered myself unimportant. I am weak. I am wrong. And, I am sorry. My reactions are wrong and I have sinned. I ask You to forgive me. I ask you to search out my heart and illuminate that which does not belong, and give me the strength to confess what I did wrong, forgive what was done wrong to me, forgive those who wronged me, hurt me, or caused me pain, and receive Your healing. I ask You, Lord Jesus, to help me heal my relationships with others. I ask this in Your name, Jesus. Amen.”
This was an interesting series of posts for me. I learned a few things and I hope you picked up a point or two along the way.
Am I different than I was a few weeks ago? Maybe just a little. If you are like me, you probably think it would be just great for God to snap His fingers, wave a little God Wand or something, and say the magic words to make everything better in life. An easy fix does not guarantee a permanent fix, whereas when we work to correct something, we are less likely to fall back into our older habits. I plan to keep praying about it. I hope you do, too.
Glenn Sasscer
www.glennsasscer.com
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The series: “Relationships Are Tough”, “Self Branding”, “The Brand Experience”, “Maverick”, “A Masterpiece”.
