A Word with the Artist

dedicated to the Truth Collective and Jenna

The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders; where morning dawns, where evening fades, you call forth songs of joy (Psalm 65:8).

A word with the artist changes the way we see.

The artist knew the emptiness of the canvas before it held color and form. He felt the surging energy, rising like a distant drum, thrum-thrumming through his blood as he imagined what that blankness could become. He thrilled in the feel of paint on his fingers as he created colors unique to the vision he had in mind. With abandonment his brush flew across the silent surface, leaving color and fire in his wake. He heard the echo of life rising from the canvas, a message of comfort and hope, glory and majesty. The artist bent near and focused intently until every cubic inch of the canvas once empty was full of joy and purpose. Until his intention could be seen.

We held our breath as the long-awaited masterpiece was unveiled by the gallery curator. 

A sacred hush blanketed the room while all eyes drank deeply of a mosaic of color and meaning. Magnificently intricate, The Beloved by Bryn Gillette pulsated with life and promise. The words of Revelation 22 rose before us in a cacophony of tessellated beauty. We were mesmerized.

Mr. Gillette came forward and explained his process. He disclosed the secrets of the painting, the materials hidden from the uninformed admirer. He revealed exquisite treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places among stained-glass patterns of cerulean and scarlet. As the artist spoke, the painting began to breathe and live before our very eyes.

A word with the artist reveals the purpose of the artwork.

There is another artist, a Master Artist who invites us near, beckons us to look closely at His work, and welcomes us to have a word with Him about His process and purpose. #creation #artinnature Click To Tweet

One of His intricate masterpieces is called a Tree.

Upon close examination, we see the Tree’s strong form, its rough, knobby bark, determined branches stretching high into the blue sky. We admire its authority over other plants of the field and forest, and we find rest in its shade.

The Tree, to even the most casual observer, is beautiful.

But a word with the Artist of the Tree changes the way we see.

Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates both day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers (Psalm 1:1-3).

The Tree that sends its roots deep into the riverbank reminds us of the potential for which we were made. You and I were created to yield fruit in season, to bear leaves that do not wither in the heat and drought of life. We were made to root ourselves in the River of Life. The Tree by the river is no mere tree.

The Artist created the Tree to show us how when we root our lives in Him, we will be like a perennial fruit tree with an unending supply of all we need to thrive.

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me…to provide for those who grieve in Zion—to  bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor (Isaiah 61:3).

The mighty oak draws its strength from the grief of a shattered seed. The perfect surface of the acorn cracked open, yielded its beauty for something greater. From its brokenness grew a towering Tree taller and stronger than any other tree in the forest. The oak illustrates that when our lives are split wide open by grief, despair, and mourning, it does not have to be the end. The crushing, the darkness that follows like an earthen grave laying heavy on our broken hearts, can yield new life. Indeed, the Artist of the oak declares that in that place of seeming death He plants the oak Tree, and you and I rise new, righteous, a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor.

The Artist created the oak Tree to illustrate the potential for life inside our sorrows when they are yielded to Jesus.

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we may cease from sinning and live for righteousness. By his wounds you were healed (1 Peter 2:24).

The Tree, formed by the Artist of all creation, knows the deepest sorrow of all planted things. For on a Tree the Rescuer of the World was hung to die. The flesh of the Tree He had made was split with nails to hold the hands that shaped the Tree. And in history’s darkest hour, humanity’s most breathtaking mystery, the created thing, the Tree, held the Creator.

Honored above all planted things, the Tree was chosen to display both the beauty and potential of God’s children and the love of the Father for those children as His Son gave His life to save them.

The Artist created the Tree to demonstrate God’s love for you and me.

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations (Revelation 22:1-2).

Every part of the Tree, every molecule, declares the glory of the Artist’s purpose. Not one fractal is accidental. 

The artist created the Tree to bring us hope not only for our personal healing, but for the healing of the entire world. 

Take a walk today among the trees and see.

Lord, you are glorious and I am filled with awe at your wonders. Help me to see. Amen.

@audreycfrank