It is interesting to me that in the same year, 2017, I painted Rescue for my home church, our country experienced record breaking floods. The painting was planned before “the rains came down and the floods came up”. Do the motions if you know the song; it’s more fun that way! I pray that the flood victims and their loved ones, as well as the rest of us, will be encouraged by the image and its meaning.
Scripture is full of references to water. Most if not every book in the Bible mentions water in one way or another. Before creation, “the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters” (Gen 1:2). Genesis 5 describes the judgment of wickedness, corruption, and violence by the flood of Noah’s time. Moses got his name from being drawn out of the water (Ex 2:10). When he grew up, Moses struck the Nile with his staff and the water turned to blood (Ex 7:20). The bronze basin in the tabernacle was to hold water for the priests to wash their hands and feet so they wouldn’t die (Ex 30:17-21). God delivered His chosen people by parting the Red Sea (Ex 14:21). After the Israelites left Egypt, God provided drinking water from the rock at Horeb by Moses striking it (Ex 17:6). John baptized with water (Luke 3:16). The waters at Bethesda healed when stirred (John 5:7). Jesus walked on water (Matt 14:26), turned water into wine (John 2:9), and washed his disciples feet with water (John 13:5). The examples go on and on, sometimes as life and sometimes as judgment.
Whether water is our friend or foe, whether there is too much or too little, we are not alone. Isaiah tells us in 43:2 (ESV) that we will have difficulty in the waters:
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.
John 7:37-39 (ESV) describes water as the worship of believers and hope for the future:
On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” 39 Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
The clouds represent the presence of God, dark for judgment and light for mercy. The dark water, with hands, is people drowning in their sin. The dead in sin do not reach toward God on their own. However, when God chooses to reveal Himself to those drowning in the mire of sin, He grows a desire in them to be saved from their sin. The hands represent those whose eyes have been opened and are responding to God’s salvation, with desire for Him. The crown of thorns comes down from heaven, plunging into the water, as judgment for sin. The resultant splash is the worship of those clothed in the righteousness of Jesus, understanding that the judgement for their sin was put on Jesus. The splash is shaped like a crown as reference to the crown for Christians in heaven. James 1:12 says, “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.” The rings on the surface of the water represent the effect of a Christian’s influence on the world around them, including the great commission to tell the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ.
Desiring to make my painting, Rescue, personal to the congregation, I invited the church community to contribute symbols of their own personal worship. I made acrylic skins of their poems, songs, photos of family, ministry, nature, etc. The skins were incorporated into the worship splash of the painting. In order to make the splash look good, I had to basically camouflage the symbols. An interesting spiritual lesson came to light as I developed this part of the painting. It is not so important to have your personal worship clearly seen by others but what a wondrous blessing to get to be a droplet in that splash!
May rivers of living water flow from our hearts. Stay hydrated, spiritually as well as physically.