“O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth! Your glory is higher than the heavens.” (Psalm 8:1 NLT)
What comes first to mind when you see or hear the word “art?” The first two things that came to my mind were the “masterpieces” of human beings when transformed by the renewing of our minds in and through our relationship with Jesus. The second picture I envisioned was dozens of train cars passing, most covered in graffiti painted by wannabe “artists.”
In my understanding there are only two ways to live our lives – by accident or on purpose – and please note, this isn’t a Christian or non-Christian phenomenon. Just because a person doesn’t have faith in Jesus doesn’t by default sentence them to live a life without purpose or intent. On the other hand, being a Jesus follower doesn’t guarantee that we will enlist our God-given resources to live a life of determined intention.
Where do you find yourself on the continuum of purpose? And what does that have to do with God’s art? God, our heavenly Father, is an artist in the best and broadest sense of the term. Depending on how much you’ve traveled or watched programs which display the vastness of the beautiful resources this earth and beyond possess, you may not appreciate the varied degrees of awesomeness of the world in which we live.
Pictures can’t do justice to the beauties of nature. You can watch documentaries on the Grand Canyon all day long, but it doesn’t compare to walking the path along the top of the canyon or descending on a donkey into the depths of its valleys. There’s something awe-inspiring about personally experiencing the breath-taking beauty of nature and realizing you know personally and intimately the Author of it all.
What is it about the artwork of God that becomes so personal, so moving on an emotional basis? Could it be His holy presence? Have you ever stood in front of a piece of art, whether in nature, hanging on a wall, or playing on a screen and found your eyes filling involuntarily with tears? Have you ever met a person so unique, whose life was so God-inspired, you sensed God’s presence just being in theirs?
Larry Norman wrote: “Life is God’s art.” When I read that I thought of the phrase “earth crammed with heaven” which comes from a poem by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, a Victorian English poet who knew how to look at the world and see heavenly truth. In Aurora Leigh, she writes: “And truly, I reiterate, nothing’s small! No lily-muffled hum of a summer bee, But finds some coupling with the spinning stars; No pebble at your foot, but proves a sphere; No chaffinch, but implies the cherubim; And (glancing on my own thin, veined wrist), In such a little tremor of the blood The whole strong clamour of a vehement soul Doth utter itself distinct. Earth’s crammed with heaven, And every common bush afire with God; But only he who sees, takes off his shoes …”
Would to God that we’d live our lives with such intent-filled purpose that our whole being would become an act of worship, a living, breathing expression of God’s art put on display for all the world to catch a glimpse of Him! With our countenance, our contributions to the lives of others in practical ways, and as we open our lives more fully to the Spirit’s control, may God’s kindness, goodness, mercy, thoughtfulness, patience, and love paint for all who know us an unmistakable masterpiece of the glory and majesty of our Savior!
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 