When we look at art, whether a "masterpiece" or a fingerpainting by a child, our view of the art is dependent on several factors.  The primary factor is the artist.  If it is someone's copy of a famous artist we may think it shows incredible talent, but not the original insight.  If it is the original then we may be awed by its rich depth and perspective.  If it is our child's or grandchild's then our heart is warmed with affection, love and pride.  Our experience of the beauty of creation is dependent on the Artist whose signature we see written into the brush strokes. 

The Gospels tell the story of Jesus from the perspective of four persons and the communities of which they were a part.  In Matthew and Luke there are similar accounts of a large gathering and a series of lessons attributed to Jesus.  In Matthew it's called the Sermon on the Mount and in Luke it's called the Sermon on the Plain.
In each of these and in many other passages Jesus speaks passionately and even forcefully about the depth of God's love for the listener.  In the above mentioned sermons, Jesus is explaining God's interest in the people's wellbeing.  He tells them that if they knock on God's door, it will be opened, if they ask then they'll receive an answer--that God isn't aloof or ignoring them or too busy or disinterested.  Then Jesus sweetens the lesson in a profound way by drawing upon the experience of a parent's affection for a child:  if your child asks for a fish do you give a snake, or a loaf of bread do you offer a stone?  The listeners are meant to realize how utterly ludicrous and outlandish this is.  Then Jesus adds the cream:  if you know better, how much more so does God?  Or "if you wouldn't do such a thing, why do you think God would?  Wouldn't God outdo you in love and care for the children of the household?"

Each person is like a work of art by the Artist of the Cosmos: priceless, beautiful, a wonder, one of a kind.  And if God sees you that way, how should you see yourself? If God sees others that way, how ought we to see one another?  God's love for us is beyond our comprehension.  I know that I need to spend more time soaking in that love and less time trying to justify myself.  When I do, I'm stripped of my need to point out other's shortcomings and imperfections--after all, who am I to evaluated God's art?  

God's love becomes the new law by which we are measured and by which we live.  Through the eyes of love we each are a masterpiece.