“Art requires much calm and to paint the things of Christ one must live with Christ…” Fra Angelico

Today I discovered a New Zealand artist online. My heart is absolutely warmed by his contemporary art expressions, but not only that, his abiding faith in Christ. Allow me to introduce you to expressionist painter, Cornelis Monsma. When it comes to letting Christ’s life flow through us as artists, writers, and painters, this artist shares simple, yet profound truths:

“Like many other fellow Christians, I started out with a well meaning attitude of “wanting to do my part” for the Christ who gave so much for me. I ended up however, finding “me” wanting, and after nearly a lifetime through trial and error, I found that Christ doing His part Himself through me, was the only fruitful situation to be in. The difference between the two approaches, as I have learned, is as far the west is from the east, resulting in the decrease of the ever domineering “self” in the first instance, to the overwhelming preeminence and presence that Christ has become in my life under the second.

He is allowing and enabling me now to express the very nature of Him and His freeing redemptive work, thereby reducing “me” to the back seat. It is His presence which enables me to do, and produce the work at the intensity of the moment.”

Many focus on doing a work “for” God, but fruitfulness comes as we allow Christ’s life to be formed and expressed through us.

Looking forward to more from this artist!

Read more about the artist here.
Read and rejoice in his inspiration.
See art gallery, scriptural inspirations and thoughts here.

“A work of art introduces us to emotions which we have never cherished before. Great works produce rather than satisfy needs by giving the world fresh cravings.” ~ Abraham Heschel

I’ve been pondering the works of Vincent van Gogh. Long ago, I criticized the man’s work. So ordinary, I thought. I didn’t get it. Having missed his heart, I walked away, unaroused by what he shared. But it wasn’t Vincent’s fault. I was young, naive. What did I know? Now, the more I learn about the man, the more his longings speak to me. I see sorrow lurking behind his landscapes:

“There may be a great fire in our soul, yet no one ever comes to warm himself at it, and the passers-by see only a wisp of smoke coming through the chimney, and go along their way.” Vincent van Gogh

When we encounter a work of art, what do we see? Are we paying attention?

Before Van Gogh became a painter, he read the Scriptures, wanting “to sow the words of the Bible” to the working-class people, as Ken Gire shares in his insightful book, Windows of the Soul. Van Gogh said himself: “I read it daily but I should like to know it by heart and to view life in the light of its words.”

Vincent had a passion to minister to the poor and the downtrodden. He longed to become a pastor like his father, but the religious powers-that-be prevented him from pursuing a theological education. They viewed him as eccentric, fanatical, unsubmissive - and pushed him aside with a lay ministry role. But he gladly lived among the coal miners, visiting their sick, praying with them, binding up their wounds, sharing the gospel, planting hope and encouragement wherever he could. He wrote his brother, Theo, that he wanted to draw them one day “so that those unknown or little-known types would be brought before the eyes of the people.”

But his position as evangelist was soon terminated, and according to Gire, he left angered and embittered at age 27. It makes sense that he sketched the peasant woman sewing, farmers eating around a table, and women kneeling in prayer. He loved these people. Gire describes At Eternity’s Gate with Vincent’s own words: “In this print I have tried to express what seems to me one of the strongest proofs of the existence…of God and eternity - certainly in the infinitely touching expression of such a little old man, which he himself is perhaps unconscious of, when he is sitting quietly in his corner by the fire. At the same time, there is something precious, something noble, which cannot be destined for worms.”

By all accounts, Van Gogh suffered with mental illness. Over his lifetime, he grew distant and anguished and despairing. No wonder. He felt rejected much of his life and struggled with depression, possibly bipolar. Had he lived in this day and age, with medication and treatment, surely he would have enjoyed a more robust life, painting well into his old age.

“How sad life must have been for him,” Gire tells us. “To feel so deeply, to want to communicate those feelings so passionately, and yet to have people stand off at a distance, shake their heads, and walk away. Eventually his physical, spiritual, mental, and emotional states all deteriorated.”

I wish it weren’t so. But now I understand. Van Gogh’s life may not be a perfect model for us but you have to admit, he saw things in people we often miss. That, maybe more than his art, was the gift. I read each of his paintings with great interest now, searching for the man, empathizing with the longings of his soul. Whatever critics say, I’ll remember him by this quote:

“Christ is more of an artist than the artists; he works in the living spirit and the living flesh; he makes men instead of statues.” ~ Vincent van Gogh

Last year I received an interesting gift: “Watercolor Lesson-A-Day” (with Dennis Pendleton, 2009). This expressive desktop calendar shares interesting tidbits about famous artists, and includes helpful painting tips if you’d like to try water colors. A quick source of inspiration at my fingertips!

Below are some of my calendar excerpts. What has each artist revealed about himself?

“Pierre-Auguste Renoir explained his feelings about painting when he said, “For me a painting should be something pleasant, joyful, and attractive, even pretty. There are sufficient bothersome things in life so that we need not create others.”

“ Vincent van Gogh displayed his emotions in his paintings. He wrote to his brother, Theo, that he wanted to create paintings that moved people.”

“ Mary Cassatt and Edgar Degas met in 1877 and began a long friendship. Both had strong personalities that sometimes clashed, but they also inspired and encouraged each other. It was Degas who invited Cassatt to show her paintings at the impressionist exhibit of 1879.”

“Beginning in 1890, Edgar Degas switched from oil painting to pastel. This medium enabled him to combine drawing and color. It was also easier on his failing eyesight.”

“It is said that Pierre-Auguste Renoir never produced a sad painting. Known for his good spirit, his paintings show people dancing, laughing, and generally displaying a love of life.”

“When a surgical operation confined him to his bed, Henri Matisse began another phase of his career. He cut colored paper into shapes and produced his famous Jazz series.”

“While confined to the asylum at St. Remy de Provence, Fance, Vincent van Gogh was permitted to paint on the grounds. During this time he completed some of his best-konwn paintings of gardens and olive trees.”

“At the age of seventy, Marc Chagall studied the art of making stained glass and over the next fifteen years produced many important works in this medium for churches and synogues.”

“Throughout the world sounds one long cry from the heart of the artist, ‘Give me the chance to do my very best.’” ~ From the movie, Babette’s Feast

In recent years, few films have really held my attention. Fewer still have left a lasting imprint. Those that do, ignite my heart with renewed passion for the arts while stirring my sensibilities.

One such story - a Danish film from 1987 - does this. It’s quaint, artistic, endearing. Without a doubt, it’s laced with rich spiritual symbolism - things I didn’t always catch the first time. Maybe I’m reading too much into it, but the beauty of Babette’s Feast is how each of us can come away with an entirely different take. You’ll have to admit, it’s eye-opening, even heartrending, but finally elevating. I love a movie that makes us think, explore, and appreciate.

Go here to read Wikipedia’s synopsis.

I see overlapping threads in the movie - of the human condition, of course, but also mercy in spite of our choices, longing for excellence vs. the status quo, sacrificial living yet legalism, acetism/aesthetics, and looking so much to the future that we miss the present. Mostly, I see g-r-a-c-e. At times my face ached with joy. When Babette spends her entire lottery fortune to create a culinary masterpiece for these staunch, rural believers - folks who consider anything but drab boiled fish a waste - a thought struck me. God’s grace is lavish. He reaches out to us continuously to provide for us when we least deserve or recognize it. How often, then, have we merely tolerated our earthly existence while counting on Heaven, when Christ longs to be life to us, here and now?

The movie’s powerful quotes speak to the human soul, such as the General’s speech during the sumptuous meal:

“We have all of us been told that grace is to be found in the universe. But in our human foolishness and shortsightedness we imagine divine grace to be finite … But the moment comes when our eyes are opened, and we see and realize that grace is infinite. Grace, my friends, demands nothing from us but that we shall await it with confidence and acknowledge it in gratitude.”

His revelation falls on deaf ears; at least they don’t understand. They eat, repressing any compliment of the meal they’re served, considering it all excess. They determined ahead of time to speak only of the old dean’s sermons whose memory they celebrate. Strange, isn’t it?

But restraint gives way to grace because it’s irresistable. Something curious begins. While Babette gives of herself utterly and freely, pouring out her gifts and talents, she expects nothing in return. And our hearts swell to witness such a gentle reawakening of everything good. ♥

“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” ~ 2 Corinthians 3:17

Have you seen Babette’s Feast? What other parallels did you find?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Faith of Barack Obama
Author: Stephen Mansfield
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
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Recently Thomas Nelson supplied a free copy of their new release, The Faith of Barack Obama, in exchange for my review. I began the book with some trepidation, prepared to refute what I thought would be chapter after chapter of propaganda. After all, I’m not voting for Obama, but neither is the author.

The book is meticulously researched and well written. I found the author to be amazingly insightful, and generous - more generous to this “rock star” of a presidential candidate than I could ever be. What took me by surprise was how Obama’s childhood story riveted me. I felt something for him I couldn’t admit before - compassion. As a bi-racial youth, he certainly grew up feeling displaced, without a sense of country, abandoned by his biological father, someone who would search for years for identity, community, and purpose.

Many demonize Obama for his liberal politics; others applaud his vision to lead this country in a new direction. According to Mansfield, Obama is helping to give voice to a Religious Left and symbolizes a new generation who are deeply religious. Republicans aren’t the only ones with faith, the Democrats are saying. The problem is, faith nowadays can mean almost anything, especially when “the majority of America’s young are postmodern, which means they do faith like jazz: informal, eclectic, and often without theme.” Postmodern Christians today pick and choose what they want to believe, and so Obama’s nontraditional faith and his respect for non-Christian religions has broad appeal.

But Obama’s faith isn’t nontraditional because an atheist mother raised him, nor because he had a Muslim father and stepfather. For sure, he calls himself a Christian and it’s not our place to judge the man’s heart. But there are certain things a professing believer will not deny, truths that are clearly spelled out in the Scriptures, the central truth being: There is only one way to God - through His Son Jesus Christ.

Obama says, “I am rooted in the Christian tradition.” He has also said, “I believe that there are many paths to the same place, and that is a belief that there is a higher power, a belief that we are connected as a people” (pg.55).

According to the author, Obama has other disturbing views. When Obama’s daughter wanted to know what happens after death, he later said this: “I wondered if I should have told her the truth, that I wasn’t sure what happens when we die, any more than I was sure of where the soul resides or what existed before the Big Bang” (pg.56-57).

While Obama denies that his faith is the only path to God, he also doubts the inspiration of Scripture and the afterlife. Mansfield reminds us that he is not alone, though, that many of Obama’s beliefs are shared by most of the mainline Protestant denominations and the unchurched (pg.58) who “rework traditional faith in their generational image.” Appalling as that may sound, the author also reminds us to draw conclusions cautiously, that “all faith is a work in progress, and no man can be accurately portrayed by a portrait frozen in time.”

It’s safe to say that Barack Obama represents the new face of religion in American politics today. He’s passionate about social justice. What I find absolutely ironic is how the same man who desires to speak up for the oppressed in this country does not have a voice for the unborn.

After reading The Faith of Barack Obama, I no longer question if this man has faith, but how his particular brand of faith will affect the leadership of our nation, should he win the election. We need to be praying, especially in light of Obama’s admission:

“Alongside my own deep personal faith, I am a follower, as well, of our civic religion.”

Civic religion? Does this mean that traditional faith must kneel at the altar of the state? Obama certainly uses symbolic language that many say only conceals a hidden agenda. Mansfield’s book, however, doesn’t push agenda, but thoughtfully raises all sides of speculation, providing ample documentation while letting the reader conclude what he will about Obama.

This book takes an in-depth look at the forming of Obama’s unorthodox faith, the condition of our nation, and our present troubled political landscape. I still have questions about the man that nobody can answer, perhaps not even Obama himself. Yet it seems imperative that we pray, not just for the election, but that Barack Obama would grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. Instead of spewing vitriol, we have the privilege and responsibility to pray for those who influence our nation.

Obama’s left-wing voting record is just too much for me; his brand of spirituality seems foreign to everything I know about biblical Christianity. But he once said he was committed to discovering God’s truth. May it be so. Whether we like it or not, Obama will probably be around for years to come, whether he wins this presidential election or the next. ~

“No one can bar the road to truth, and to advance its cause I am prepared to accept even death.” ~ Solzhenitsyn

On August 3, Solzhenitsyn died.

“The man credited with exposing the brutality of Stalin’s purges and gulag system has died aged 89. Nobel prize winning author Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn was expelled from the Soviet Union in 1974 but returned to Russia in the 1990s. He died in Moscow in the early hours of Monday from a suspected stroke.”

He was a Nobel prize winning author, compared to the likes of Dostoyevsky, Chekov, and Tolstoy. Some call him a prophet. I call him a courageous truth-teller.

“One word of truth shall outweigh the whole world,” he said.

Solzhenitsyn’s first book, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich (1962) is a “forceful artistic indictment of political oppression in the Stalin-era Soviet Union.” This short novel opened our eyes to a typical, grueling day of the character’s life in a Siberian labor camp. Solzhenitsyn himself spent time in the gulags, imprisoned for making derogatory statements about Stalin in a letter to a friend.

“He wrote that while an ordinary man was obliged “not to participate in lies,” artists had greater responsibilities. ‘It is within the power of writers and artists to do much more: to defeat the lie!’” ~ The New York Times

Albert Mohler shares: “Edward E. Erickson, who wrote two major works on Solzhenitsyn, argues that the key to understanding Solzhenitsyn is Christianity - the Russian Orthodox faith that framed Solzhenitsyn’s worldview. Erickson argued that “in a day when secular humanism flourishes among the cultural and intellectual elite, he holds fast to traditional Christian beliefs.”

I’ll be looking more into the faith of Solzhenitsyn and share what I find. Oh, that we all would have the courage to write the truth!

Washington Post
Nobel Acceptance Speech in 1970
The New York Times article
WikiQuote on Solzhenitsyn
Speech at Harvard, 1978: A World Split Apart