Still A Masterpiece

“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 

According to Forbes Magazine, in 2016, Steve Wynn was worth $2.7 billion. He is an investor in the city of Las Vegas. He's credited with bringing that city back from an economic downfall. He's built amazing, five-star hotels that have won all kinds of awards. He built the Wynn Hotel, the Bellagio, and the Mirage, to name a few. He's also an avid art collector. It’s one of the passions of his life. In 2001, Steve Wynn bought a painting for his collection, for which he paid $50 million. It was by Pablo Picasso. It was painted in 1932 of his girlfriend. It's called "La Reve" in French, which is interpreted as "The Dream.” Steve Wynn loved this particular painting because of its name, "The Dream.” He paid so much for it because, to him, it had emotional ties to the dream that he had when he began to build his financial empire. He loved it, but like most investors, he decided to sell it five years later to buy two more new pieces of art. Someone offered him $139 million for it, and he accepted. But he decided to have a party and celebrate “The Dream” painting and all it had meant to him, and during the party, he lost his balance and accidentally put his arm right through it. The painting was ripped to shreds.

You would have thought that he would have counted it as a big loss, but what he did next was amazing. He bought the painting back from the person he sold it to and went to Europe to find the world’s greatest art surgeon. The surgeon said that he could repair “The Dream,” but it would take years to restore it. God is the greatest surgeon of all time. If you will turn to Him in your failure, He will mend the broken and shredded places in the canvas of your life and make you like new. It may take time to heal a marriage that’s been torn. It may take a while for God to mend a life that has been devastated by drugs or alcohol, but if you put your mess into the nail-scarred hands of Jesus, restoration will come. 

The most significant part of that story was the surgeon restored that painting so well, that when he was through with it you could not tell it had been torn. Incredibly, the painting was worth $16 million more after the restoration. Don’t limit God. He can turn your life around in ways you can’t even imagine.

Even if you have messed up big time, you are still priceless in God’s eyes. We serve a God who says, “Your failure is not final.” When Mary and Martha came to the tomb, Jesus had a message waiting for the disciple who failed. Jesus had told the angel to say, "Go tell my disciples,” and then He added, "and Peter, that I will meet you in Galilee just as I told you.” He wanted Peter to understand that His plans did not change just because he had failed. Remember, he had denied Christ three times. Jesus called Peter by name so that he would know without a shadow of a doubt that he was still part of the group that He was going to use to change the world. Jesus wasn’t going to let Peter shrink down and slip away to become a fisherman again. He wanted Peter to know that he was not done with him.

Peter may not have been perfect, but he was God’s child too. He may have cussed, thrown tantrums, got into fights, and lied, but he was still His child. Jesus doesn’t just love His people when they are “good.” He loves fallen people too. The mistake may have made Simon Peter feel like he was no longer a part of the group. Some of you have fallen and the accuser has whispered, "You are no longer fit to serve. You are no longer good. Look at your life." But God will restore the years the enemy has taken away. Our God is a restorer! God has not marked you out of His plan and purpose just because you've gone through failure.

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