Reminder

Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: “I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature on earth. I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.”

And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.”

So God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth.”

—Genesis 9:8-17

Rainbows are happy things. Their beauty fills us with wonder. They inspire our dreams and hopes for a brighter future. This was my third attempt to paint a rainbow. An earlier attempt was to put my own spin on the quintessential “happy” rainbow. It turned out very nice, and would go great in any child’s room or Sunday school class. But happy rainbows didn’t seem to satisfy me. They didn’t seem consistent with the context of the story. The story of Noah is one of great sorrow, loss and healing. I wanted to paint Noah’s rainbow—a sign of remembrance.

We are so tempted to cuddle up with the animals and bask in rainbow colors with our children. But recent natural disasters in our world awaken the realities of Noah’s story for me. I imagine the rainbow that Noah saw felt more like a peace offering. An assurance that this kind devastation would never happen again. An encouragement to a survivor trying to live in a “new normal.”

We assume the rainbow is meant to be a reminder for us alone. But the story repeatedly says that the covenant was established between God and humanity and ALL living creatures of every kind. It also proclaims that when the rainbow appears, GOD remembers the covenant as well. We see a rainbow and remember a story with a promise. God sees a rainbow and remembers an event and a bond with all creation—even to creatures who could never ponder the depth of such a sign.

So, I tried to paint God’s covenantal sign. The sign that appears after the storm—transforming chaos into peace and fear into hope. A loving reminder for God and all of God’s creatures on this earth. Our rainbow.

Israel

Let’s admit it. We all struggle with God. Our wants and desires are continually in conflict with God’s will for our lives. We struggle the hardest with questions of faith like the existence of evil and suffering in the face of an all loving, all powerful God. Here’s a little secret — it’s OK to wrestle with God.

Jacob wrestled with God in the 32nd chapter of Genesis. He wrestled with a mysterious stranger all night. When dawn approached the stranger dislocated Jacob’s hip and asked to be let go. Jacob agreed under the condition that he be given a blessing. The stranger declared that Jacob would, from then on, be know as “Israel” — a name that means “God Wrestler.”

This painting explores Jacob’s wrestling match on that life-changing night. The painting shows two opponents locked in conflict. It’s the kind of situation where the exhausted and weary opponents are supporting each other as much as struggling against each other. Their bodies are lit by a starry sky. The stars remind us of the Abraham’s covenant with God — that his descendants will be as many as the stars.

I would argue that God’s grace is big enough to allow us the honesty and freedom to wrestle. Like Jacob’s hip, God could put us in our place at any moment. Instead, God lets us wrestle — giving us support when we need it. The stars bear witness to our relationship with God. As Christians, we share in God’s covenants. We too are children of “Israel,” and therefore, “God Wrestlers.”

So go ahead. Let it out. Be like the Psalmists and cry out to God all that you consider unjust. We need not fear to approach God with our honest feelings, pains and doubts. Our questions do not alienate us from God. Rather, we encounter God when we question. There can be no FAITH without doubt. God’s steadfast love is strong enough to handle anything humankind can hurl at it. And when we DO wrestle with God, our perceptions of truth and the ways we live out our lives are forever changed.

And the Spirit of God Moved Over the Waters

Since this is my genesis as a blogger, I thought this would be the appropriate starting piece. It is an idea on a passage from the first verses of Genesis. When the world was formless chaos, the spirit of God moved over the waters. Like a rising dawn, God's Grace conquers the darkness and calms the tidal forces of chaos. This passage begins a long history of special relationship between water and Grace. From the flood, to the calming of storms, to baptism, God continues to use this element of life to remind us of God's creating, and re-creating, love for the world.

There are actually two versions of this painting in existence. One was bought by a church, the other was commissioned to be reproduced at a larger size for a family. The husband is a Sea Captain. Whether you are on land or at sea, I hope you find peace and comfort in the loving God who is Lord over the chaos of life.