As soon as we open our eyes every morning, what we want most is to matter, to live a life (and to do work) that has meaning. – Bernadette Jiwa from her latest book, “Difference”
Can you relate to that? I know I do. I want to have an abundant life that is full of meaning, adventure, passion, love and making a difference. 
Deep down inside, I know that I am falling short of the fullest, over-flowing abundant life that I can possibly have. Many people would point to differences I have made, some maybe even are able to articulate difference I have personally made in their own lives. I am grateful for that, and feel that is a big part of why I am here.
However, the truth I feel deep in my gut, is that there is more. I am not taking hold of all that my life should be.
That frustrates me. Can you resonate with that? Do you sometimes think that your life should feel different? Have more abundance than it has, even if it is only a little more – or a lot more?
Maybe what frustrates me most is that, as a follower of Jesus, I believe that I already have been created with everything I need to live that fully abundant life. Ephesians 2:10 says that me, you, all of us, have been created as UNIQUE MASTERPIECES of God, with special, unique GOOD WORKS – not just abstract gifts that we can try to measure and compare – but real, actual works of goodness that we have been uniquely created to DO.
If I was created a unique masterpiece, and I have the Raiders of the Lost Ark, Holy Spirit presence of the Living God residing inside of my heart and soul, – that even a mustard seed’s worth of access to that could move mountains – why do I feel lacking in abundance at times?
I think that is a very important questions to ask. I have been asking that question since being challenged by God on the first trip I took to the Philippines to serve abandoned abused and dangerously neglected children living on the streets.
In order for me to UNLEASH THE MASTERPIECE of God in those precious street kids who live on the other side of the world, I need to first, unleash it in myself. I cannot effectively give what I do not already have. I need to be a product of the product.
My wife is the single most important human being in the world to me – and, how effective am I at helping her unleash the unique masterpiece that God created her to be? I have four biological children, and I have very special adopted kids that I love like my own – how am I doing at helping them UNLEASH THE MASTERPIECE within? Shouldn’t it start first at home?
I have been working with other people’s kids for years in student ministries, coaching sports teams, etc. What about in those contexts? How am I doing at unleashing in those arenas?
What God was telling me in 2006 in on the streets of the Philippines was that I need integrity of message to be successful. If my heart is truly broken for street kids – I need to be overflowing with MASTERPIECE that is abundant in my life and the lives of those closest to me.
What I have learned over the past 8 years since then is that is a very difficult thing to do at all, let alone to do well – and to do in a reliable, predictable and repeatable way. Becoming a Masterpiece, and helping those closest to me become masterpieces, is the only way to create a movement of UNLEASHED MASTERPIECES.
I have come to find that fully unleashing my masterpiece, and anyone’s, takes an entire lifetime. Your masterpiece, my masterpiece, IS MY LIFE, your life, our lives. It is the culmination of (hopefully) many masterpiece decades, made up of masterpiece years, made of masterpiece months, weeks, days, hours minutes and seconds.
I have narrowed the question down to how do I live this CURRENT DAY as a MASTERPIECE, and how do I encourage others around me to do the same? How do I best set the stage for tomorrow’s masterpiece?
It is complex, unique, is filled with ups, downs, failures, hope, despair, laughing, crying, joy and pain. It requires intentional relationships, intentional effort, time and money. It’s a journey, not a destination.
I like this quote by Brene Brown – “It’s so scary to show up. It feels dangerous to be seen, it’s terrifying. But it is not as scary, dangerous or terrifying as getting to the end of our lives and thinking—what if I would have shown up? What would have been different?”
I would like to modify that quote a bit. What if I get to the end of this DAY, or this HOUR, without having “shown up”? What would have been different? Having missed the good works I was created to do this day? This hour?
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