Thursday, October 31, 2013

Frames and Paintings

I like picture frames. I mean I like to hang picture frames on the wall with no pictures in them. My family stares at them and says, Why’d you do that? I got the idea from a magazine, where I get 99% of my ideas. Whether ornate, simple, made of wood, metal, or ceramic – an arrangement of lowly rectangles artfully arranged on a blank wall is impressive to me.

But really, frames are purposed for better things. The goal of a border-surround is to outline a watercolor or oil creation, a portrait or a print. It should be unobtrusive, never calling attention to itself, but drawing interest to its contents! It’s all about the picture.

You know, one’s outward appearance is similar to a picture frame. Our bodies (and the way we dress or don’t), our eyes, hair, smile, speech, body language – all meld together to constitute a “frame” or enclosure for our inward selves, our spirits. Accordingly, in a spiritual sense my inner woman should be the centerpiece of my whole self, not the visible part of me.

Yeah, I like empty picture borders as décor. But they’re still empty. They surround air; nothing is there.

Spiritually, I can find myself in a similar situation: mostly frame, surrounding quite a bit of air. If I regularly lavish attention on my outward person and accompanying trappings, but ignore that inner woman,then the real me can be obscured, or fade away.

Just as an appropriate frame showcases a particular picture, so my outward personal appearance can and should speak of God’s beauty living within. If I profess to adore Jesus Christ, but belie that declaration by my sexy, scanty clothing, others will scratch their heads in confusion, wondering which to believe. If my expression invariably is joyless and dark, dare anyone think a joyful, vibrant Jesus-follower resides within that “frame”? If my words cannot be trusted or believed, or slanderously afflict others, or if I am indifferent to pain and suffering around me, it could be that a painting exists, but so faded and dim it’s almost impossible to see.

Just something to think about.


No comments: