[---------------The Eyes Of An Artist---------------]
Nobody
In
the fall of 2009 I arrived on the campus of Central Bible College (CBC) for my
first semester of undergraduate work. Although it was nearly three years ago
now, it honestly feels more like 3 weeks ago. I can vividly remember stepping
foot on the property on that first day. The first thing on the to-do list was
finalizing registration.
As
my family and I walked across the campus towards the library for registration,
my world stopped for about five seconds…1…2…3…4…5. I saw the girl of my dreams
walking down the library steps with her family. She had blond hair, was wearing
a black head-band, and had the most amazing smile I had ever seen. At that
moment, on top of the fact that I was thinking, “she will be mine…oh yes…she
will be mine” (yep…that was a Wayne’s World reference), I was also thinking,
“Alright, lets get the boring stuff out of the way, I’m ready to start meeting
people!”.
Two
days later I was all moved into my new dorm room and my parents had headed back
home. The jitter and excitement that came with my first day on campus was
beginning to wear off and classes were getting ready to start. As the week
progressed and different groups of friends started to form, I had a pretty
frustrating realization: “I literally have no friends here. I am a nobody”. It was very depressing thought for me.
One that I had never dealt with before.
As
a few weeks passed, my mental state hadn’t really improved. The truth is, that
I honestly thought that I was a nobody.
I mean, back home I had lots of friends and I never really had weekends without
things to do. Once I was at school, it was like I couldn’t get people to hang
out with me if my life depended on it. I spent hours down in the gym shooting
baskets by myself or sitting in my dorm room just waiting for something
interesting to happen. I probably hit the refresh button on my Facebook more
times in the first few weeks of college than I had in the past 2 years
combined. Oh and that girl that I had seen by the library? Yea, she thought I
was a total loser too. In fact, she wouldn’t even speak to me.
So
my first few weeks at CBC were miserable. I basically had no friends, no plans,
and definitely no girl. I really felt like a nobody.
Now
let me ask you something, have you ever
felt like you were a nobody?
The Artist
About
two weeks ago I was on a lunch-break and, due to the massive bank account of a
church intern, I decided to head home and just cook lunch for myself. As I was
winding along the road in forest-laden New England, something caught my eye. I
was about half-way home and I noticed a man standing just off of the right
shoulder of the road. There isn’t really anything abnormal about a man
standing, but this guy wasn’t just standing –he was drawing.
As
I drove past him, I saw that he had an easel, some drawing utensils and the stance. You know what I’m talking
about, that artist’s stance; the
artist stands slightly tilted backwards with his or her head tilted sideways as
their drawing hand floats over the paper as if directing a symphony. Well, this
guy had it all, and it was obvious that he knew what he was doing. The only
thing that confused me was the subject of his drawing. There was nothing
special about the place he was standing –it was just a clearing in the trees.
New England is covered in forests and trees and clearings, it just didn’t make
sense. As I finished the drive home I just kept thinking, “what in the world
could was that guy have been drawing? There was nothing there!”
About
an hour later as I was heading back to finish out the day at church, I came to
the spot where the artist had been. And sure enough, he was still there. My
curiosity instantly got the best of me as I pulled a U-turn and parked my car.
As I got out of my car and walked up to the stranger, I felt like a total
idiot. I mean, everyone knows not to interrupt an artist at work right? Well,
I’m a little slow sometimes, so I did it anyway.
“Excuse
me, I don’t mean to be bother, but can I ask you what you are drawing?”
For
the next 15 minutes, “John, but they call me Pete”, explained to me that he was
drawing ,“That large tree there, with the path leading up to the ridge”. As he
explained his drawing, he told me that he had driven past that spot many times
and that he had always wanted to do a sketch and do a painting of the tree, the
path and ridge. The more we talked, the more interesting the landscape became.
I started to see that common landscape as more of an uncommon masterpiece. “This spot has always caught my eye, I think
it is beautiful”, he repeated.
For
the rest of the week I couldn’t stop thinking about that conversation and
experience. And the aspect that really stuck out to me, was the fact that I had
been driving past that same spot at least twice a day for the past 9 weeks, yet
I saw no beauty or greatness. I didn’t see anything special in that landscape
until John explained it to me. I always thought that I was good at picking up
on places that looked cool or interesting but I was definitely proven wrong.
After talking to John I started to see the tree, the path and the ridge from a
whole new perspective. It was almost as if I was seeing this landscape through
his eyes; The eyes of an artist.
The Least
If
we look in Judges 6-7, we get to see one of the greatest stories of underdog-triumph
in the history of the world. At this point in history, Israel was under
oppression from the Midianites and it seemed as if there was no end in sight.
The Israelites were worshiping false gods and were wondering further and
further away from the umbrella of God’s favor.
For
the next seven years, things remained awful for Israel under the Midianite
oppression. However, God stepped in and called an apparently incapable man to
do an apparently impossible task.
12When
the Angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you,
mighty warrior.”
13“But
sir,” Gideon replied, “if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us?
Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about when they said, ‘did
not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and
put us into the hand of Midian.”
14The
Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out
of the Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”
15”But
Lord”, Gideon asked, “how can I save
Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”
16
The Lord answered, “I will be with
you, and you will strike down all the Midianites together.”
As
you probably already know, God used Gideon and came through for Israel. In
chapter seven, Gideon leads an army of only 300 men into the camp of thousands
upon thousands of Midianites. Carrying nothing but pitchers, trumpets and
torches, the Gideon-led Israelites defeated the massive army of Midianites and
enjoyed 40 years of peace.1
One
of the most interesting aspects of that story from Judges 6-7 is this: God used
Gideon, a man who was the least or most unknown person in his family, to lead
one of the greatest and most well-known battle charges in the history of the
world. That is simply amazing! God used a
nobody to do something huge for his country and for God’s kingdom! Or so it
seemed.
You
see, the events of those chapters in Judges were a shock to Gideon, a shock to
Israel and of course a shock to the defeated Midianites. However, none of the events
or persons involved in that victory were a shock to God. When the angel of the
Lord first addressed Gideon he even called him a “mighty warrior”. And later
when God actually spoke to Gideon, He said “Go in the power that you have”.
That statement alone insinuates that Gideon, this apparent nobody, had
strength. It became obvious that God saw something great in a seemingly average
man. Why? Because God has the eyes of an
artist or should I say the divine
artist!
The Divine Artist
When
I drove past that guy on the side of the road, I couldn’t figure out what he
was trying to draw. Nothing looked special about that spot where he was. To me
it just looked like a clearing in the trees. But I was missing something. See,
I didn’t have the eyes of an artist
like John did. With the eyes of an artist,
the tree, path and ridge was a beautiful spot, but without them, it was just a
clearing. Having the eyes of an artist gives a person an entirely fresh and interesting view of things. An artist sees things that normal people seem to overlook.
After
meeting John on the side of the road, I now look at that clearing with new
vision. I drive past that spot at least twice a day, and I see it in a totally
different way than I did the first 150 times that I saw it. I now look at the
tree, path and ridge with the eyes of an artist. And I believe that is
exactly how God looks at us.
Just
like John had the eyes of an artist and saw a beautiful tree, path and ridge,
God has the eyes of the divine artist
when he looks at his creation. God has the
eyes of a divine artist when he looks at you and me. And sometimes it may
feel like we are a nobody. Sometimes
we may tell ourselves that we are a
nobody. Sometimes other people may tell us that we are a nobody. But, guess what? God never looks at us as an
insignificant being or as a nobody,
because He created us. And just as an artist has the ability to see something
spectacular in a landscape that a normal person would consider dull, God sees
each and every one of us as spectacular and extraordinary.
God
has the eyes of the divine artist! And
nothing great that we accomplish is a surprise to him because he sees the
potential in us from day one; And God gives us the ability to live up to that
potential. Gideon was “in the weakest
clan” and was “the least in his house”,
but God saw him as something greater and used him in a mighty way. And I believe
that God wants to use you in mighty
ways as well…even if you feel like the
least, God wants to use you to do the
most!
So
where are you at right now in your life? Do you ever feel a bit meaningless? Do
you ever feel small and insignificant? Do you ever feel like you are just a
nobody? Well if you do….Stop it! Because your creator is the same God who
created the universe. He is the same artist who created the most beautiful
landscapes in the world. He is the divine
artist. And as the divine artist, he looks at you, His creation, with the eyes of the divine artist. He sees
the potential in you and He has a great plan for you. The scriptures don’t say
that we were “Cheaply made” the Bible says that we are “Wonderfully made” and
that God’s works are “Wonderful”. 2
To
God, you are extraordinary!
To
God, you are spectacular!
To
God, you are a masterpiece!
And I don’t know about you, but I
would much rather be a masterpiece to the divine artist than a superstar to the
people.
Peace
Love
God Bless
Just
for the record, I did end up getting the girl. We are still dating, and yes, I
plan on taking her on dates for the rest of my life. At CBC I eventually got
over the “I feel like a nobody” mindset, and I have had a great three years
there! Nobody is ever truly a nobody because we are created by the divine artist and in the image of Him.3
Bibliography
1.
NIV Judges 6-7
2.
NIV Psalm 139:14
3.
NIV Gen 1:27
