Art has always been a powerful way to express emotions. I want to show you some of my art. It tells a story. My story. Maybe this art helps expiate pain enough to allow healing. Maybe. But it points to a certain hope found in Jesus.
Throughout church history, art has had an important place in expressing Christian experience and teaching.
When literacy levels were low it was art that was used to explain Biblical stories, themes and passages. Even now with the primacy of Scripture, art still has a place in telling stories and expressing human experience.
This piece of art combines a drawing of a tree with words of Scripture. The tree comes from the desert outside Alice Springs, Central Australia.
It sits on the banks of the Ross River, drawing its life from the underground springs of the riverbed. The words on the tree are from the Bible and pasted on to the tree to be leaves, which are branching out from the life source.
Life
The artwork points to the Life that the Bible brings. And Life, with a capital “L” (John chapter 10 verse 10), is about who Jesus is and what He has done.
So the words, as the leaves, focus around these attributes of God, Jesus and the Spirit: His love, mercy and grace.
They point to a life springing up from the desert. The words on the dry ground point to being separated from the Tree of Life: death, pain and weeping.
The artwork points to the centrality of Scripture and the source of Life. It was given as a gift to bring reconciliation and encouragement. It is a symbolic way to display and uphold unconditional love and hope.
Jeremy Dover is a former sports scientist and Pastor
Jeremy Dover's previous articles may be viewed at
www.pressserviceinternational.org/jeremy-dover.html
Jeremy Dover is a former sports scientist and Pastor
Jeremy Dover's previous articles may be viewed at https://www.pressserviceinternational.org/jeremy-dover1.html
And https://www.pressserviceinternational.org/jeremy-dover.html
