Devotions based on Juliet Benner’s book, Contemplative Vision
Many times in the Bible we are invited to see…”O taste and see” ( Ps. 34:8), “Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord.”(Ex. 14:13), “Behold the beauty of the Lord” (Ps. 27:4) Jesus so often invited people to have the eyes of their hearts and minds open and receptive. And He had strong words for those who thought they could see but were blind. Christian art is a way of opening our depths to the lord that can’t be reached by just words. In our dining area we have Rembrandt’s picture of the Prodigal and Henri Nouwen spend days in front of it in St. Petersburg. He prayerfully sat there and took it in and later wrote a book on all that he saw. If we just take a casual look we miss so much. It is good to prayerfully look at a painting and allow the Spirit to use it to open our eyes to new ways of seeing. We need to be like children that have minds and hearts open and free and enliven imaginations. As we do this we my respond to God with praise, wonder and worship.
Leave a Reply