Limited Edition Masterpiece

As a parent with two kids, I fight the urge.  It’s the urge that any parent reading this has probably had to face.  And, most likely, whether you’re a parent or not, you’ve had to deal with it personally.  What is it?  Comparison!  As a parent, I have to guard against the urge to compare other kids to my kids, or even more so, my kids against each other. You as a parent probably have had the same struggle.  But even if you are not a parent, you have most likely been caught in the fight of comparisons at some point or another.  I not only have to fight against the tendency to compare my kids, but I have to guard against comparing myself to people around me…other husbands, other dads, or even other youth pastors. 

Right now, we are gripped by the holiday season, and if we are not careful, we will catch ourselves missing the beauty of the season because we are caught up in comparisons.  We compare the trees, the decorations, even the quality/quantity of gifts. 

A couple of weeks ago, Amy and I went to a toy store to look for presents for our kids.  As we were looking for a particular item, I noticed something.  The item we bought for our son, Cole, was not the only one of its kind on the shelf.  There were several of those identical items lined up behind it.  (I know that sounds crazy to think that a store would mass-produce something in an effort to turn a profit.)  In that moment, I had this thought:  How many of us think we are mass-produced?  It’s easy for me to compare myself to the next 28-year-old male if I believe that we are all from the same mold.   It’s easy to compare ourselves to one another when we think, “I’m just 1 of 7 billion.”  In reality, you are not.  You are 1 of 1.  God created you as a Limited Edition Masterpiece.  In that light, there is no room for comparisons, because every time God created one of us, He broke the mold!  Take a look…

Ephesians 2.10a (NLT) - For we are God’s masterpiece.  

Furthermore, in Psalm 139.14, David proclaims, “I am fearfully and wonderfully made...” 

Translation: I am Unique.  

You are a unique masterpiece God created.

God placed in you the exact, unique gifts and talents you need for today.  

This holiday season, when we are choosing among all the mass-produced gifts, let us remember that each of us is uniquely created. 

    

So please repeat this after me: I am a limited edition masterpiece created by God.  My challenge to you is that each day for the remainder of 2012, you would repeat that statement to yourself...Until you are convinced it is true!

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Tim