OK so this is my second ever play with oil paints. It is very fun and I am very inexperienced but I hope to keep at it. This one has two contrasting sides which illustrate how I see two topics graphically.
The first is the difference between conviction and condemnation which I have written about previously here and here. Condemnation is dark, oppressive and heavy with no real solutions. Conviction can feel uncomfortable but has a way forward – and is full of life and light and colour and process and progress and lifting up – when we let it do it’s work. Which of course we don’t always.
The second is also a contrast. This time between the fear of the Lord and the fear of man. Obviously the fear of man is also the dark, oppressive and heavy side. It is also shaded as fear of man can range anywhere between being afraid to hurt someones feelings by speaking the truth – and of being afraid for ones life.
The fear of the Lord is a pretty big topic and one which I spent a weekend studying a few weeks back. My notes are in very scrappy form, and someday they might make it onto a presentable read, but for now I’ll just pop a related link to a Francis Chan video which I think is excellent, some photo’s of my notes, and a super brief summary which I think I can reduce right down to two points.
- The fear of the Lord is for our good. We don’t have to go far to see examples of how a life can look without it.
- The fear of the Lord essentially is – I believe, and in it’s very most abbreviated summary – “giving Him heed”. By that I mean – watching for, listening to, paying attention to and acting on the things He says with purpose and intention.
- OK I said two – but it’s a circle you see. When we give Him His due heed – it can only be for our good – and the difference bewteen the end results of rearing Him or fearing man – can be startlingly different.
So my painting shows contrasts between ways of Life and wisdom – against ways of death and defeat. It can take years to recognise the different ways the dark can masquerade as the light but as we walk with Him, becoming more familiar with His voice the more we can choose ways both given – and for – the sake of life and freedom.
Oh – and today’s main song is here on Youtube or here on Spotify 🙂
