UI – Part 245 – Hope and Inspiration

Shared Conviction

History has inspired followers of God, followers of Christ and followers of the Holy Spirit to write, paint and sculpt.  By doing so they share their conviction, their love of God, and their relationship with the Father, with others.  As Christians they do not hide their visions, their conception of Christ, God who has never been seen, or the impact the Holy Spirit has had on their lives. 

This is not limited to artists, but also employees and leaders who conduct their work, their professional practice and their lives to honor God and the presence of God in their lives.

Indwelling Spirit

Moved by the indwelling Spirit they create and share to provide a new perspective on the light shining on them and guiding them.  Inherent in their artistry is a prayer that others may see God in their work.   Where there is denial this piece of art may alter the negative vision of some partakers, find that internal location that invokes faith, a love of God, and overcome the darkness that rests within.  It may represent the cliff from which one leaps in faith to only be captured by the hand of God.  For the seekers, or kingdom builders, it provides a new look at the wonders they already embrace, reinforcing their love and commitment to their Lord and Savior.

We are a part of His Plan.  Know that.  Share that.  Lead others to discover the mystery. By sharing our faith, proselytizing without being overbearing, by showing our love, dedication and devotion to God, by helping others recognize the good news of Jesus Christ, we are only painting a picture of the eternal kingdom in which we will someday dwell.

The Good News

Hear my prayer Oh Lord that all will see the light God, through his Son, has shone on the path to his eternal glory. We only need to follow the light and the path.  His sacrifice made those who believe right with God.

When asked ‘Who is this man” – who told the lame man to pick up his mat and walk? Jesus replied: (from John 5) “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can only do what he sees the Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does….For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it.  Moreover the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him. I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes in him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.”  That is the Good News.

God never appeared to any man, except as the Son, who can and could do whatever the Father (God) does.  It was so the created (man) could know God that he appeared in human form, incarnate, and made the pathway to the eternal kingdom possible for those whose eyes were opened and could now see, for those who were lame and could now walk in the light of God.

Your artistry in how you live a life for God, depicted in your own way, will show the Spirit within and reveal God’s truth.  Those in denial may never see, because they choose not to see, not to take the leap that will reveal the cross they bear and actually remove the pain they suffer.

Doctrine of Total Depravity[i] – The Bad News

We are all sinners, whether you believe in original sin (as I do) or not.  Temptations abound and we are subject to them.  Sinners are self-conscious, but does that suggest sinners (many) are not conscious of God?  Believer on not, what is common to both is God who makes our understanding of our nature, our self-condition, natural laws, and our surroundings known to us, because we are awake and conscious. According to Van Til, his book, The Defense of Faith[ii], “As a covenant breaker he (a sinner) seeks to suppress” his knowledge that God exists.  This leads to the Doctrine of Total Depravity, which suggests, “no sinner reacts properly to God’s revelation….All…are covenant breakers. They have an axe to grind. They do not want to keep God in remembrance…for fear they should look into the face of their Judge. And since God’s face appears in every fact of the universe, they oppose God’s revelation everywhere. They do not want to see the facts of nature for what they are; they do not want to see themselves for what they are….They serve and worship the creature (the created) more than the Creator. They try to make themselves believe that God and man are aspects of one universe.”[iii]

Love of the Creatures

God has revealed himself.  For the artists and the believers that lead a life for God, even though they too are prone to sin, knowing Christ died and rose again to prove to man his divine nature and forgiveness, they want to share, to share in the wonder, glory and the abounding love God has for his creatures.  The believers in their own fashion inspire and give hope to those on the cusp of belief, and the other world who is in denial.  The tapestry they weave as a fellowship of Christian persons is made available to everyone to add to the plan, to the characters, to the scenery, and to the revelation that God is. 

Grace and Peace