Claude Monet » Water Lilies
(Source: detailsdetales)
Barrs’s foundation for evaluating and defining great art lies in three key aspects. As he writes, “All great art will echo these three elements of Eden: (1) Eden in its original glory, (2) Eden that is lost to us, and (3) the promise that Eden be restored” (24). This nuanced approach to “creation, fall, redemption” begins with the assertion that all human beings are sub-creators. Creatures made in the image of the Master Artist will long to create. “In exercising dominion over God’s good creation,” Barrs writes, “we are not creators in an absolute sense, like God, but, rather, sub-creators at best” (18). To varying degrees, then, we are all artists who cannot escape interaction with the arts. Even though some argue the arts are unspiritual and worldly, we still find that “art is inescapably part of our lives. Anyone who thinks about the presentation of food on a plate or what colors of flowers to grow in their garden is acknowledging that human beings cannot escape the arts” (35).
http://thegospelcoalition.org/book-reviews/review/echoes_of_eden
When was the last time you were surprised and overwhelmed by the forgiveness of Jesus? Can you think of a moment where you were face to face with the darkness of your own heart and depths you are capable of reaching, only to be reminded of Jesus’…
In ancient times the pagans cried out in a noisy frenzy to their idols (1 Kings 18:25-29). In sharp contrast, the psalmist saw the wisdom of silence, because in quiet reverence God can be heard. In the stillness of the night under a starry sky, in a hushed sanctuary, or in a quiet room at home, we can meet the living God and hear Him speak. The psalmist’s words are relevant today: “Wait silently for God alone” (Psalm 62:5).
—Herb Vander Lugt
— Myunghwa Choi, ”Loneliness Unmasked” sermon (via jspark3000)
(Source: loveunlocked, via jspark3000)