One of the things I enjoy doing when I have a leisurely day off is to walk into an art gallery and spend some time enjoying the creativity and beauty of an artist’s work. I’ve found that examining a painting requires two perspectives. The first is the perspective one gets standing back from the painting to take in and appreciate the whole. The second is the perspective that comes when you step up close and examine the details. From this perspective you see individual brush strokes, layers of color, shades, lines, and textures in the work. A close examination can leave you in wonder at how all of that detail came together to create the picture. After taking in those details, a step back once again brings the whole into focus and with it a new appreciation for the creativity and skill of the artist. This last step is important. Focus too long on the details and a person can get lost in them and forget all together the point of the detail, that is, to contribute to the whole.
Sometimes we can get so caught up in the details of our lives that we get lost in them. They take our focus and we forget altogether the point. I can definitely testify to getting lost in details. Sometimes I get so focused on the next reading assignment, or the paper that I need to write that I forget to take a step back to remember why I am doing this in the first place. When that happens, God steps in and gently reminds me to take a step back and remember that I am doing this to serve others, to inspire and equip others to dig into his Word. I want to take another step back, though, and also recognize that my call to inspire and equip others to study the Bible is one of many. It is an ancient call that countless others have answered before me. I have been reading through a four volume work on the history of biblical interpretation for one of my classes. It has been a bit of information overload but one of the things that has stood out to me is that for more than 2000 years Jewish and Christian interpreters have studied the Bible and in its pages found new mysteries to uncover in the pursuit of knowing God and his work in the world and in our lives. All of that 2000 years of study contributes to the image of God we have today. Like unique brush strokes layered in countless shades and tines of color, they come together to capture a self-portrait of the Master Artist.
Photo by Yannis Papanastasopoulos on Unsplash
The image of God that I see shining through the many layers of the history of biblical interpretation is one of a God who is infinitely complex, who makes himself known, who has grace for humanity’s foolishness, brings correction, inspires new insight, guards and preserves truth, meets us where we are at, stretches our thinking and who cannot be contained. John 21:25 comes to mind. John wrote, “And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which, if they were written one by one, I suppose not even the world itself could contain the books that would be written.” We have been writing books for over 2000 years trying to capture the meaning and significance of God’s revelation of himself in the Bible and yet we find that there is always more to discover. Allow me to echo Paul when he says, “O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! ‘For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?’ ‘Or who has given a gift to him, to receive a gift in return?’ For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever, Amen.” (Rom 11:33-36).
I wonder, are you caught up or lost in the details of life? Do you need to take a few steps back to see the big picture? What is the image of God you see when you step back? Take a few minutes today to look up and step back from the busyness of life to gaze at the portrait of God being painted.