As a mostly self-taught artist, I’ve spent significant time studying works of a variety of different types of artists, and it has become obvious that the mind can use the hand to create many different emotions with just a few pen or brushstrokes. A painting or drawing can display anger, or it can express joy. It can evoke disgust or cause a giggle to erupt. Through the lens of these visual snapshots, we can learn much about the artist. Is this person one who thrives on controversy or one who is led “beside peaceful streams?”

With God in your world, you aren’t an accident or an incident; you are a gift to the world, a divine work of art, signed by God. Max Lucado, In the Grip of Grace

And just as an artist can evoke countless emotions in a visual image, so can a few well-placed instigators among a crowd create a wave of dissent using just a couple of taunts. Soon those nearby are joining the chant and in very short order, the entire crowd is whipped into a frenzy. As the instigators steal away under cover, the mob grows and grows until there is no controlling it. It happened in Jerusalem to Jesus. It can happen anytime, anywhere with a minimum of planning and provocation.

Most of the crowd is probably made up of hard-working ordinary people who get carried away in the moment. Many didn’t come to that place or that time to find themselves in danger from law enforcement or elements of the crowd. And everyone of them is redeemable if they choose to be. You read that right…if they choose.

The best example I know of radical change is the Apostle Paul. By his own admission, he was one of the most aggressive persecutors of Christians in his day and yet after being overwhelmed by a light so bright that it brought him to his knees and left him blind, he heard the voice of Jesus and turned his life around. We all have that choice. Our encounter with Jesus may not reach the level of Paul’s but there will be a time of reckoning for each of us. Some will never accept the Word of God because they choose not to, but others are redeemable just like Paul. Our job is to stand up and, as Pastors Dennis and Sarah are telling us each Sunday this summer, act out the truths we hold dear regarding the reality of the need for Jesus in this hurting world.

What makes us special is…the signature of God on our lives. We are His works of art. We are created in his image to do good deeds. We are significant, not because of what we do, but because of whose we are. Max Lucado, In the Grip of Grace.

Sunday morning, a phrase in Pastor Sarah’s opening prayer really caught my attention. I can’t quote her exactly but it essentially said we all need to fall on our knees asking for redemption before we can raise our hands in praise to God. Paul was our example and I can think of no better one to follow.

Back in 1965, the writing team of Burt Bacharach and Hal David put together a song that became a top-ten hit. Bacharach, however, was uncertain about the timing because we were in the midst of a culture struggle over differences of opinion regarding the war in Vietnam. Oddly enough, that environment softened a bit with the leading words to their song: What the world needs now is love sweet love …. It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of.

A truer statement was never made. And the word love finds its most profound meaning in the name of Jesus.

We are tasked with bringing a little Jesus into the lives of everyone we encounter, our words and actions should reflect His image. Some may see H is light and come to redemption, others may not. We can encourage an environment of love and grace, but they will have to choose, and eternity is a very long time.

For the Lord is the spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom…And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image. II Corinthians 3:17-18