Faith in Art

Dear Friends,

I've never really thought about faith in art until last Sunday morning when Martin Relf (a local church leader) came to preach. His message was on Mark 4 and the Parables of the Farmer Scattering Seed, the Growing Seed and the Mustard Seed. He illustrated some of his points using Vincent van Gogh's painting: 'Sower with Setting Sun' 

Faith in Art

As I listened I was both encouraged and challenged by Martin's message and have been reflecting on it ever since. There is such a powerful message in this particular painting by Vincent van Gogh. 

It seemed good to me to share with you what I have learned from Martin's message as well as my reflections during this week. I hope you too will be encouraged and challenged. 

1. The Sower.

The Sower is anonymous. We cannot see his face and because of this, he can represent me and you. The sun is setting behind him, he has been at his work all day long, faithfully sowing his seed. How faithful am I in my service for God? Do I persevere in what God is calling me to do? Just as it takes time for a seed to grow in the natural world, any seed we plant takes time to grow. We need to have patience and keep sowing faithfully whether we see the fruit of our labour or not. 

What is the seed you have been sowing? 

• Is it the seed of God's Word, sharing it with those who need it? 
• Is the seed your own life - giving up your own will and life that you might submit to God's will for you? As a seed, I need to die to self, because it's only when I am planted and die I can then bear fruit for God. 

In John 12:24-26 (NLT) Jesus says this:

I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels—a plentiful harvest of new lives. Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity. Anyone who wants to serve me must follow me, because my servants must be where I am. And the Father will honour anyone who serves me.

• Is the seed you've been sowing faithfully for years your prayers for loved ones and you're yet to see the fruit of it? 
• Maybe you've been faithfully serving God and you have dreams he's planted in your heart but as yet there's little to show. 

I want to encourage you not to give up, to keep going, keep sowing, keep serving, keep praying, keep dreaming, keep persevering, just as the faithful farmer does in Van Gogh's painting.  

God will bless our faithfulness even if we do not get to see the fruit of our sowing in this life. 

This isn't easy, is it? To keep going and believing when we see nothing for all our efforts. I find this so challenging. Do you? Van Gogh never got to see in his lifetime the fruit of all the seeds he sowed. But those who have come after him have been blessed and continue to be blessed and impacted by his life. 

God calls us to faithfulness. Even if we are not recognised here on earth by others, we are by God and there is much joy when he sees us laying down our lives for him. Ultimately, what we do is for him and for eternity, it is not about us, and so we come back to the statement that the sower in the painting is anonymous because it is not about him at all.

2. The Seed.

In the Parable of the Farmer Scattering Seed, the farmer scatters his seed everywhere. He doesn't pick and choose where to sow his seed. We see how the seed fell on different types of ground and in some places it just didn't grow. There was nothing wrong with the seed - it was all good seed. This parable reminds us that as the sower we are to sow the seed everywhere, it's not for us to say, "Well, this is where the seed will work best, this is where I'm going to invest my time." Or, "I'm not sowing in this area because it's not going to grow here." It's not our responsibility to decide these things. 

God calls us to sow his seed everywhere. He is the one who is responsible for the fruit. It can be discouraging not to see any growth after we sow our seed. Perhaps sometimes we blame ourselves or even judge and criticise others for their lack of response. Let's not do that, let's remember what is our responsibility and do it whole-heartedly and faithfully for God, and let's leave to the Holy Spirit what is his responsibility.

We sow the seed, God plants the seed in the heart and he watches over it. God is the one who gives the increase. Be encouraged, dear friend.

3. The Sun.

The sun, seen shining on the sower's back, is God, shining on him. Ever present, ever watchful. God is ever present in our life. He sees all we do for him and his face shines on us. Nothing we do for him is ever wasted.

I love the blessing from Numbers 6:24-26:

The Lord bless you, and keep you [protect you, sustain you, and guard you];

The Lord make His face shine upon you [with favour],

And be gracious to you [surrounding you with lovingkindness];

The Lord lift up His countenance (face) upon you [with divine approval],

And give you peace [a tranquil heart and life].’ (AMP)

4. The Tree.

When we look at the tree we see how battered it has been from the wind, it has been bent, but it is not broken. Branches have been cut off. It may perhaps have looked dead at one time, but there is new life and there is hope in the budding of new growth. The art historian, James Romaine says "In the presence of the tree, we have an image of resurrection."

There was a time when you and I were dead in our sins but Jesus has brought new life to us, we have been reborn. We may have faced some tough life situations, we may have been battered by the winds of adversity but we are not broken because we have the Holy Spirit within us, restoring and redeeming us. There will have been times when God has needed to do some pruning in our lives, he has removed that which has hindered our growth or kept us far from him. And in its place, we have experienced even more fruit, all that he might be glorified in us.

Jesus said in John 15:2, 5, 8 God "cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more... Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing... When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father. (NLT)

As I finish, I want to leave you with one last thing which Martin said on Sunday:

"Don't underestimate the individual impact of a life laid down for Jesus can make." 

To Think About:

What kind of seed have you been sowing? What helps you to keep sowing faithfully?

Look again at the four sections above, which one speaks most to you now and why do you think that is?

Over the coming week read the parables in Mark 4. Ask God to speak to you as you read them. Make a note of what you sense he is saying to you.

Vicki

If you enjoyed reading this devotional blog, then you may like to know that I have two devotional books both of which are available to buy from Amazon. (The content of these books is material adapted from past blog posts.)

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