A Glimpse of Eternity
The Fort of L'Esseillon, Val de la Maurienne, France, 1835-36
JOSEPH MALLORD WILLIAM TURNER
Watercolor, Bequest of Walter C. Baker, 1971
For the next few days, we are going to sit with pairings of art and Scripture. Art because this medium of expression tends to reveal some of the deepest parts of the human experience - those parts we cannot articulate in words. Scripture because its pages hold stories, prayers, and poetry that reveal God’s character, His heart, and His design for humanity. When we look at two such things side by side, we get this fitting together of puzzle pieces: the longings of human souls and a glimpse of the God for whom we were made. God not only knows the desires of our hearts, but He is where they are fulfilled. Eugene Peterson presents this verse in Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, “The Spirit of God whets our appetite by giving us a taste of what’s ahead. He puts a little of heaven in our hearts so that we’ll never settle for less” (The Message, 2 Cor. 5.5).
As we take time with the art pieces to follow, we get to look not only for what bits of heaven were put in the artists’ hearts but also for what is stirred up in our own hearts that God may have planted to draw us toward Himself. For the next few days, we are going to sit with pairings of art and Scripture. Art because this medium of expression tends to reveal some of the deepest parts of the human experience - those parts we cannot articulate in words. Scripture because its pages hold stories, prayers, and poetry that reveal God’s character, His heart, and His design for humanity. When we look at two such things side by side, we get this fitting together of puzzle pieces: the longings of human souls and a glimpse of the God for whom we were made. God not only knows the desires of our hearts, but He is where they are fulfilled. Eugene Peterson presents this verse in Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, “The Spirit of God whets our appetite by giving us a taste of what’s ahead. He puts a little of heaven in our hearts so that we’ll never settle for less” (The Message, 2 Cor. 5.5).
As we take time with the art pieces to follow, we get to look not only for what bits of heaven were put in the artists’ hearts but also for what is stirred up in our own hearts that God may have planted to draw us toward Himself.
Opening Prayer:
Lord, please draw my attention to the good, true, and beautiful in this artist’s work.
Open my mind to realize connections between the captivating elements of this painting and my core yearnings.
Stir within me those yearnings that expose how my soul longs to be with You for every moment of this life and for eternity.
Take some time to read the following passage of Scripture:
2 Corinthians 5:1-5
English Standard Version
For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.
Reflections:
For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.
Closing PRAYER:
God, please draw my eye to beautiful moments as I go through this day, and help me to soak them in for as long as I can before they or I move on.
God, please increase my awareness of You as the object of any longings I feel to be seen, to be loved, to hold onto beauty and know what is true.
