A small canvas

A great artist can paint a great picture on a small canvas. (Charles Dudley Warner)

God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. (I Peter 4:10)

I cringe whenever I hear someone say that God couldn't use them or that their 'gifts' were too insignificant to 'count' in the scheme of things. God created each of us uniquely - some with a great big 'canvas', others with a 'small' canvas, but the thing he created is what makes the difference, not the size of the 'canvas'. We all have probably heard that good things come in small packages. I think God uses the canvas of our lives to paint a picture of his grace and love. We are a 'display' of both!

Use your spiritual gifts, regardless of how 'small' or 'insignificant' you may believe them to be. The beauty displayed in a life that has been redeemed by his grace doesn't find its significance in the 'quantity' of one's gifts, but in the quality of putting those gifts into use as he directs. Serve one another and do it well. You will be fulfilling your purpose when you do. 

God sees our talents as limitless. They may not be as 'public' as some are, but when we serve one another with the gifts and talents we have been given, we are allowing God to move through us to touch the lives of others around us. There is no greater 'canvas' than one that has been painted by God's hand. When you said 'yes' to Jesus, his finger strokes set forth a thing of beauty. All that grace touches is beautiful and is it useful!

Have you ever seen a mosaic? The artist has taken small objects and created a larger object out of all those small pieces. In much the same way, God takes the 'small canvas' of our lives, fits it together with various other 'small canvas' lives, in turn making a vast mosaic of his 'artwork'. The thing created when we are faithful to use the talent he has given us is 'huge' when all of us are faithful to display what he has done in each of our lives. Just sayin!