Ephesians 2:10-22 (NIV)
(Click here to read the full passage.)
21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
Have you ever made a mosaic before? A mosaic is a picture or pattern produced by arranging small colored pieces of hard material, such as stone, tile, or glass in mortar. I have friends that used to make them. I found the process fascinating.
It all starts with the breaking. One artist, Marylou Newdigate, uses items that other people count as useless. She does not will the items to fall off the shelf, but she uses the broken pieces to make something beautiful. In some cases additional breaking is required to fit pieces perfectly into the big picture.[a]
Then comes the reassembling. Each piece is carefully considered and placed on the surface according to the master plan of the artist. Sisters and mosaic artists Jennifer and Kitty O'Neil use great care to ensure that the plate’s original design is evident.[b]
In life we may experience times of breaking. We may find our hopes, dreams, plans or beliefs about ourselves, others or God dashed. Ephesians 2 tells us, however, that our Father is a master artist who takes the broken pieces of our lives and creates a work of art that glorifies Him. The process of breaking and rebuilding helps prepare us for the purposes He has for us.
Sometimes the breaking happens in the greater community: war, prejudice and catastrophic events can leave communities broken or torn apart. In the same chapter we learn that God can take a group of disjointed people (in this context it was the Jews and Gentiles) and fashion a community and a church among whom He can live.
As Jodi King of Love & the Outcome said, “Sometimes things need to fall apart to fall into place”[c]... to be fashioned into something beautiful, a masterpiece. The breaking is never easy. Yet through it we can discover an intimacy with God, a maturity, or a community we never would have found or thought possible.
COMMENT BELOW: Have you or someone you know ever gone through a tough breaking season? How has God used the broken pieces?
[a] Newdigate, Marylou. “Smashing Broken Cups and Plates to Make a Mosaic.” How to Mosaic and Make Beautiful Objects for Home and Garden, Blogger, 30 May 2011, http://earthmaid.blogspot.com/2011/02/smashing-broken-cups-and-plates-to-make.html?m=1.
[b] O'Neil, Jennifer & Kitty. “Mosaics 101: How To Break China for Mosaics.” YouTube, 20 Oct. 2014, http://youtu.be/IF4r0YaF5gs.
[c] King, Jodi. “Motivational Monday | Falling Into Place.” YouTube, Love & the Outcome, 28 May 2018, http://youtu.be/2IuFrzfdN5M.