The Upper Room 22nd January 2024 Devotional Message
The Upper Room 22nd January 2024 Devotional, Monday Message by Tim Southern (Massachusetts, USA)
TOPIC: Works of Art
TODAY’S READING
Ephesians 2:1-10
We are what [God] has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we may walk in them. – Ephesians 2:10 (NRSVUE)
One day at lunch, I went with a friend from work to the nearby Institute of Contemporary Art in the Boston Seaport District. I confess my tastes lean more toward the masters, and I sometimes struggle with contemporary works of art. But that day, I saw several pieces that intrigued me. They were created from repurposed materials like scrap metal, old paper, and cardboard. Without having read the exhibit label on the composition, it would not have been obvious what medium was used. The old materials had been made into something new.
Something like this happens when we come to Christ. God turns all the stuff we bring into our relationship into something new. This transformation will likely be a gradual process; for although God can picture the final result, often the material needs to be reworked in the creation process. As God’s finished creation, we will find all that was once there — our addictions, brokenness, heartache, and selfishness — is being shaped into God’s masterpiece.
TODAY’S PRAYER
Artist God, we give thanks for your transformation. Help us to be patient and to accept that change is not instantaneous. Open our hearts to the new possibilities of who we may become. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
I am God’s work of art.
PRAYER FOCUS
To be open to God’s transformative power
The Upper Room is a daily devotional magazine published in more than 30 languages and 100 countries around the world. The daily meditations are written by readers of the magazine and others interested in sharing their faith experiences through writing—both laity and clergy, published authors and new writers. The meditations are stories of real people working to live faithfully with the Bible as their touchstone. Every day, readers of The Upper Room around the world read the same story in many different languages and pray the same prayer together.