I got coffee with an artist friend of mine a while back.
I have no artistic ability whatsoever – at least not in the fine arts of sculpture, drawing, or painting.
She was showing me samples of her most recent work and made an interesting comment.
“Drawing is easy. You learn the techniques and skills and then you’re in total control of the end result. Watercolor is much harder. You really can’t control where the paint goes – you can only guide it.”
I think that our relationship with Jesus might be more like watercolors than it is like drawing.
Jesus could, of course, control us at every turn. He could strip us of our free will and force us to bend to the strokes of His pencil.
But I think He might be more interested in letting us flow under the guidance of His brush.
That doesn’t mean following Jesus is a free-for-all. That doesn’t mean we can wander wherever we will.
It just means there might be more freedom than we think there is.
For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. (Ephesians 2:10, NLT)
What if that masterpiece is supposed to be a watercolor in which the artist and the paint work together? What if God gives us direction and allows us to explore the edges of His plan?
Don’t get me wrong. This is not relativism. I’m not advocating for a faith that allows us to do whatever we want.
I’m just suggesting that God is not a puppet master.
I’m suggesting that God invites us to participate in our relationship with Him.
I’m suggesting that God wants to lead and guide us so that our lives become an absolute work of art.
We can’t do that on our own – but with the brush strokes of a master Artist we can become beautiful.
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