Advent Week 1: Hope is Jesus—Our Living Water
Canvas: 24”x 30”
Time: Approx. 3 hours on December 2nd, 2018
Cost: $1,500
Artist Statement
John 7:37-38 (NIV) On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”
Pastor Doug opened up the Advent season with a message of encouragement and hope, inviting us to let go of busyness and refresh our focus during Christmas. Doug talked about everyone’s thirst for hope and love and then asked us to look closely at the things we reach for to quench our thirst (money, romance, achievement, etc.) or erase it (religion, shutting off emotions, etc.). Doug described these as addictions and identified the cause--shame: a repeating tape playing in our minds (“I’m not good enough. I cannot trust anyone.”) Then Doug pointed to the cure--Jesus: He took away our shame through the cross and offers Himself as Living Water--the only thing that can satisfy our thirst.
A wise friend, Odette, saw this painting and brought up an excellent point: In addiction, one’s vision is narrowly focused on the object of addiction. She also said this painting represents our act of looking up, letting God love us, and trusting that He is enough for us. In 1994, at the base of (344 Ft tall) Chinak-Meru falls in Venezuela, enveloped by it’s wind and spray, I felt hyper-alive and shouted with abandon. I was struck by the shear amount of water flowing day and night, consistently all year long, sourced by the lush forests of The Gran Sabana. Likewise, there is no shortage of Living Water--as we simply trust, it flows endlessly from inside us, without any toil on our part--there for us to receive and share.