A couple weekends ago I hung out at Balboa Park with my dad and little sister. In case you didn’t know, it’s a great area to visit if you’re wanting to feel more “cultured.” It’s got everything you could possibly want: theaters, gardens, fountains, architecture, people playing instruments that you’ve never seen or heard of before, kids performing magic tricks for money, a guy selling balloon animals, tourists, strange sculptures that fall under the all-encompassing category of “modern art” and, of course, museums. Lots of museums.

Since we hadn’t planned on spending any money, we visited a free museum. Being a free museum, it had a relatively small collection of art and the guards were on the old and tired side (not at all intimidating like the ones you might run into at a fancy museum). Still, even if it wasn’t the most impressive exhibit in the park, it had a few pieces worth looking at. A good portion of the museum had the kind of religious artwork that looked as if it might have come from the dark ages and probably should have stayed there. Most of that stuff with its ornate decoration, rich garments, inexplicably white people, and golden halos seems like such an inaccurate representation of what things must have actually been like in Jesus’ day that I can’t really relate to it. On the other hand, I enjoyed some of the more realistic portrayals of people, be it a portrait, a depiction of some well-known tale, or simply a scene from what everyday life looked like at that time. I especially liked one with a view of some ships at a harbor with a bunch of people on the dock going about their daily business.

Looking at those paintings got me thinking about the quote, “imitation is the greatest form of flattery.” Even some of our finest art is only a rendition, a copy of the original creation. And it made me pause in wonder to think that God might view us as His masterpieces. Art isn’t a thing of perfection, and I don’t think it needs to be, that’s not the purpose. And certainly we are not perfect. But I think, in a way, as God’s creation we are, or perhaps were, or rather one day will be. At least, everything was perfect at the beginning. But that’s the astounding part; God let his own creation become a living thing, something that could be separate from Him, something that could form itself in a way, even become imperfectly flawed. Yet, at the same time, He is still working in it, shaping and molding as He sees fit. It’s all a lot to take in, but it really is an incredible thing to think of ourselves as God’s masterpieces, maybe even His most prized collection, one that He deemed worth saving for eternity. When we look back, if indeed we shall one day be able to look back on it all, I’m sure we will be in awe at the skillful work of the Master and the special care He put into every little detail until He achieved the final result.