I had my day all planned out. Get up early, list a few things in the Etsy shop, go to church, and then spend a few hours working on the fair booth set up. It all had gone according to plan up to this point. I got up early and worked on some Etsy listings and then went to church. But instead of working on my fair booth set up, here I sit at the computer typing a blog post. God had another plan for me this afternoon, and that’s just fine. The message our pastor shared this morning at church led me to some realizations, and recording them in my blog has become the priority for this afternoon. God called…I am answering.
Pastor George spoke this morning about sharing God’s message of hope, love, and salvation with others, and he used events surrounding the sinking of the Titanic to deliver the message. There was an Evangelist by the name of John Harper on board the Titanic on its fateful maiden voyage who spent the last hours of his life swimming around for as long as he was able to rescue passengers in the icy water. His rescue attempts didn’t involve leading them to lifeboats, though. Instead, his rescue mission involved leading those who would soon perish in the frigid sea to Jesus and salvation.
Pastor George made an analogy between John Harper and those who’ve accepted Jesus, between the sinking of the Titanic and the world today, between the pasengers in the icy waters in 1912 and those who are drowning in life’s turbulent seas in 2024. All believers have been called by God, as John Harper was, to reach out to their family members, friends, and even strangers who are barely staying afloat. We all have our own rescue missions to complete.
As I listened to today’s sermon, I thought of a painting that I currently have in progress in the studio. In this piece, which I’ve named “Journey to Salvation: The Prayer”, a sailing ship thrashes in a turbulent sea, and one of the sailors who has fallen overboard reaches a hand upward, out of the crashing waves, toward a bright light in the sky. The message in this piece of artwork that I was inspired to create and in Pastor George’s sermon this morning are in many ways the same…so many around us are drowning in the challenges of life and need to be rescued ultimately by Jesus. But if they don’t yet know Jesus, they don’t know to reach up to Him. This is where God’s rescuers…all of those who know Jesus as their Savior…come in.
Many years ago, I had a misconception that I wasn’t given the ability to share God’s message with others. I wasn’t an outgoing person…didn’t find it easy to talk to strangers or even my family and friends about the blessings a relationship with Jesus has brought to my life or about the salvation that He offered me. But, along my art journey, God has shown me that I absolutely am able to testify to others, just in a different way. I can allow my art to speak for me…to visually depict everything that I don’t find it easy to say with words.
My point is this. There are many ways of leading friends, family, and even strangers to God and the free gift of salvation. With today’s thoughts now recorded, I’m heading to the studio. There’s a painting there that I need to finish and send out on a rescue mission.