Daily Devotional October 31, 2023

 



For 3 weeks every fall season, our city becomes an art gallery. Nearly 2,000 artists from around the world display their creations in galleries, museums, hotels, parks, city streets, parking lots, restaurants, churches, and even in the river. Among my favorite entries are mosaics made from small pieces of colored glass. The winning entry in 2011 was a 9 x 13-foot stained-glass mosaic of the crucifixion by artist Mia Tavonatti. While viewing the artwork, I heard the artist discuss how many times she had cut herself while shaping the pieces of glass for her mosaic.

As I gazed at the beautiful rendition of what was a horrific event, I saw more than a representation of the crucifixion - I saw a picture of the church, the body of Christ. In each piece of glass, I saw an individial believer, beautifully shaped by Christ to fit together into the whole (Eph. 2: 16,21). In the artist's story, I recognized the shedding of Jesus' blood so that this unity could take place. And in the finished artwork, I saw the act of love required to complete the project despite pain and sacrifice. We who believe in Christ are a work of art created by God to show the greatness of a Savior who makes something beautiful out of the broken pieces of our lives. Christ gave everything to make something beautiful of His church.

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