God's Masterpiece
Bible Verse
For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (NIV) Ephesians 2:10
In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul used the word “created” (Ephesians 2:10). This beautiful word describes intention, planning, and design. In sharing the world with our children, we take comfort knowing God created our whole world with intention! Furthermore, he designed us, his people, to have purpose. We belong to our Creator, and he designed us for community.
One way we can share God’s great design with our children is through storytelling. Educator Emily Style describes stories as both mirrors and windows. Some stories mirror our own lives with a familiarity that encourages companionship. Other stories provide windows into the experiences of others to broaden our view of God’s beautiful, diverse creation and to find ways to understand and promote the belonging of others. (For your consideration, check out “Five Children’s Books that Honor the Body of Christ,” from our sister ministry, Think Christian. It’s a great launchpad into other story suggestions for your family.)
God’s story proclaims that all of us were designed and crafted—not merely manufactured. God created us in “Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10). For some children, these blessings of good works may come from how they use their gifts. For others, they may come through the very gift of their presence. Look over the words of Colossians 1:9-14 and consider praying them over your child.
Take courage in the fact that God carefully designed each of us with purpose. Though as parents we may struggle with feelings of inadequacy or live with financial and physical limitations, our hope rests not in what we do but foremost in who we are as God’s children. When our children are both encouraged and challenged to see God’s great design in the diversity of creation, they become changemakers and advocates in their own way for God’s love and purpose.
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Sara Pot
Sara Pot is a parent of four daughters, two of whom are medically fragile with complex needs. She is passionate about the inclusive vision of belonging, and this filters into her work with schools, writing, workshops and family advocacy with children's paediatric rehabilitation services. Sara and her family live in St. Catharines, Ontario.
