A Piece of the Picture

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Our lives and actions are actively shaped and redeemed by God's great plan.

Program Transcript

I’m sure almost all of you
have used Microsoft Excel at some point during your professional career. It’s a
computer program that helps you manage large amounts of information. The data
is entered into a “cell” and then organized across a spreadsheet and
highlighted according to user’s preference. Sounds kind of boring, right?

Well, one Japanese man
figured out a way to make Excel really fun. His name is Tatsuo Horiuchi. And at
73 years old, he decided to finally pursue his dream of creating digital art. Horiuchi
discovered that by coloring individual cells in a spreadsheet, he was able to
create beautiful artwork. His paintings of Kegon Falls and Cherry Blossoms at
Jogo Castle look like a master artist had painted them.

But when I heard about
Horiuchi’s paintings and how he was making them, I couldn’t help but think
about how his focus on each individual cell is similar to how God works in our
lives.

There are so many different moments
in each of our lives where we interact with one another. We may brighten our
favorite Barista’s day with an encouraging word or offer a ray of hope to our
neighbor by helping them with their groceries. We don’t always see the effects
our actions can have on another person. And we’re not really meant to. It’s not
on our shoulders to control the responses of others.

Instead, we should see these
simple interactions as individual cells in God’s majestic painting. Christ is
actively working to show signs of his redeeming work here and now in this fallen
world. And he does so by enabling us to be channels of his grace in our
relationships and working through the Spirit to bring our world into deeper communion
with our Heavenly Father. See how Paul puts it in Romans: “And we know that in
all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called
according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).

We won’t know until the end
what affect we’ve had on other people. But we can trust in our Savior to redeem
all things for his glory. Each of our actions, small or large, is like a single
cell shining brightly on the grand canvas that God is painting with his
transforming love.

I’m Joseph Tkach, Speaking of
LIFE.  

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Program Transcript

I’m sure almost all of you
have used Microsoft Excel at some point during your professional career. It’s a
computer program that helps you manage large amounts of information. The data
is entered into a “cell” and then organized across a spreadsheet and
highlighted according to user’s preference. Sounds kind of boring, right?

Well, one Japanese man
figured out a way to make Excel really fun. His name is Tatsuo Horiuchi. And at
73 years old, he decided to finally pursue his dream of creating digital art. Horiuchi
discovered that by coloring individual cells in a spreadsheet, he was able to
create beautiful artwork. His paintings of Kegon Falls and Cherry Blossoms at
Jogo Castle look like a master artist had painted them.

But when I heard about
Horiuchi’s paintings and how he was making them, I couldn’t help but think
about how his focus on each individual cell is similar to how God works in our
lives.

There are so many different moments
in each of our lives where we interact with one another. We may brighten our
favorite Barista’s day with an encouraging word or offer a ray of hope to our
neighbor by helping them with their groceries. We don’t always see the effects
our actions can have on another person. And we’re not really meant to. It’s not
on our shoulders to control the responses of others.

Instead, we should see these
simple interactions as individual cells in God’s majestic painting. Christ is
actively working to show signs of his redeeming work here and now in this fallen
world. And he does so by enabling us to be channels of his grace in our
relationships and working through the Spirit to bring our world into deeper communion
with our Heavenly Father. See how Paul puts it in Romans: “And we know that in
all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called
according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).

We won’t know until the end
what affect we’ve had on other people. But we can trust in our Savior to redeem
all things for his glory. Each of our actions, small or large, is like a single
cell shining brightly on the grand canvas that God is painting with his
transforming love.

I’m Joseph Tkach, Speaking of
LIFE.  

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