Is viewpoint important? Ask an artist. His success is linked not only to skill, but to his “way of seeing” a person, place, object, or event. Discomfort, delight, disgust, or humor may surface when an art observer’s perception differs from the artist’s…which is why the following biblical paintings entertained my brain:
"Loths Flucht" (Lot's Escape), Albrecht Dürer, 1496
Somehow, I never imagined Lot and his daughters escaping their exploding home so fashionably, calmly, or slowly. And it took me a long time to figure out that Lot’s daughter rescued some sort of yarn holder…and not a monkey on a stick. The figure in the background has “combo deal” privileges–it doubles as Lot’s salty wife and the Grim Reaper.
"Pharaoh's Daughter and Her Handmaids with Moses in the Reed Basket," Jan de Bray, 1661
Does anyone in the second painting look remotely Egyptian? Jan de Bray was famous for painting contemporary people in the pretext of historical events–vanity gifting the world with Baby Moses’ Discovery, the Shakespearean Edition.
'The Women at the Sepulchre" ("The Angel at the Tomb of Christ"), Benjamin West, 1805
Why is this awkwardly posed, flush-faced angel glaring over his shoulder? Is he angry because the women are ignoring him? Upset about his Poseidon-trident hairdo? Oh, and West’s model for the undignified angel must have been one of Gene Wilder’s ancestors.
My point is, the gap between these artists’ portrayals and my perspective produces humor. However, when there’s a gap between the way God is working and my perception of how He should be working…it’s not so funny. You see, viewpoints are crucial. They form beliefs, engage our emotions, and lead to actions.
In his book Our Ultimate Refuge, Oswald Chambers writes, “An accepted view of God has caused many a man to fail at the critical moment…only when he abandons his view of God for God Himself, does he become the right kind of man.”
In these tough times of job loss, financial strain, family conflict, and life-threatening illnesses; we don’t always understand the way God chooses to treat his children. Heartache rattles our view of God. IT IS OK when our finite minds do not comprehend what an infinite God is doing. However, we must trust the One who is doing it:
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the LORD.
“As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
Isaiah 55: 8-9
Although I found the above paintings comical, many I viewed were beyond my imagination. Breathtaking. Insightful. Powerful.
"The Storm on the Sea of Galilee," Rembrandt van Rijn, 1633
And that’s why I’ve got to stop trying to fit God into my viewpoint. Stop “painting Him into a corner.” He’s the Master Artist. I’m the apprentice. And His painting of my life, of yours, will be “immeasurably more” beautiful than all we could “ask or imagine.¹”
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Are there areas where you need to abandon your “view of God for God Himself?²”
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¹Ephesians 3:20
²Oswald Chambers
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