Once you see the way God sees you, that’s the image you carry every day. You don’t need to double check or look in the mirror to make sure. It’s settled.

Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are his masterpiece, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.”

A masterpiece is not hidden; it’s meant to be displayed. It is meant to display the works of its creator. It is of great value to the creator.

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

2 Corinthians 5:17

Read the above verses again and again. What is the Spirit of God saying to you about who you are?

Not everyone believes that they are God’s masterpiece created for good works. There are some who know what the scriptures says about them, but are still striving to be better with their own strength and abilities. They find themselves being tossed to and fro by various waves and doctrines. Their minds are not renewed by the Word of God, so they don’t have anything firm to stand on and they can’t really accept what the Word says is true about them. They conform to the patterns of this world, allow self-defeating and self-focused thoughts to rule their minds, and they accept a false version of themselves as their authentic selves. Sometimes they believe what the Bible says, sometimes they don’t. Christ has made it possible for us to stop striving and to rest in Him. Surrender control and striving. Instead yield to Him. Otherwise you will continue believing lies, and trying to gain something that is already in you. Renew your mind with the word of God so you can live with transformed minds.

People have knowledge about many things pertaining to God, but not all knowledge changes who you are and how you live. Some knowledge remains in the head and doesn’t make its way to the heart. So when it comes to applying what they know in their daily lives, they stumble. Sometimes life reminds us that we need something more than good intentions to lead purposeful lives. Sometimes knowledge convinces people that they can do it on their own, but there is a kind of knowledge that ties you to a greater purpose. This knowledge paves the way for understanding even to the simple.

Understanding leads to an uncluttering of the mind, where you now know what you need to keep and what you don’t need to hold onto anymore. The eyes of your understanding open and you know that you are part of a greater mission. You wake up every day desiring to pursue Jesus even more. You will depend on the most marvelous thing that ever happened to mankind: Christ in me, the hope of glory! (Colossians 1:27) Christ's presence in us is the hope of glory, and this truth is full of glorious riches. Our once dead, darkened spirits are made alive. This is why Paul said the old things have passed away, new things have come. Your old self has been crucified with Christ. He was raised to life for our justification. In Him, we have become the righteousness of God! Now we can live this new life by faith in Jesus who calls us His beloved, His masterpiece! His desire is for us.

We have the life-giving spirit of God inside of us, and He will teach us all things. Embrace your identity in Christ and allow Him to sustain you in all that He has called you to do. Let this truth settle in your heart and you will never again settle for anything contrary to what Jesus says.