Where do you come from?

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
Psalm 139,13 NLT 

While living in Central Asia some years ago, one of my best friends was a carpet maker. I still remember the time when he produced what he called his “Mona Lisa”. The carpet was not so big - less than a meter wide and a little bit more than a meter long. It still took 13 months to make it. For each square centimetre there were 80 knots.  

I followed the whole process. Week by week we saw new patterns blossom. When asked, the carpet maker explained the meaning of all the decorations. Most of them originated from ancient times.  

As the carpet grew in the loom, we all felt that we were watching the birth of a masterpiece. Knot by know the artist worked out his plan knowing that one day his beautiful piece of art would be finished.  

Observing all this, I one day asked myself: Where does this carpet really originate from? It is easy to answer the loom because this is where it comes into being. I did however see that the artist did his work based on a pattern that he had already made. Everything was carefully worked out on paper before it was created in the loom. But where did the pattern on the paper come from? What was the true origin of this beautiful carpet?

Asking these questions, it dawned for me that the ultimate origin of the carpet was in the mind of the artist. First, he created the beauty in his mind. Then he worked it out on paper. And, in the end, the carpet was skillfully crafted in the loom.

“Where do you come from?” is a common question when we meet with new people. We often answer geographically, pointing to a place on the map. Or we answer biologically, telling who our parents are. The deepest and most profound answer is however that we all originated in the mind of the master who knit us together in our mother’s womb. 

Reflect 

What good skills has God created you with? How can you serve him through life and work using these talents? What beautiful, God-given patters do you see in your co-workers, friends, or neighbors? How can you help them to develop end utilize their talents? 

Pray 

God, I ask you to root deeply in my identity that my ultimate origin is in your mind. Help me to identify the talents you have given to me and use them in line with your will in the society I live in. Help me also to identify the talents you have given to the people around me, so we can all make use of your good gifts in line with your purpose.