Sunday, May 22, 2011
Affectionately Affianced
Affectionately Affianced is the antithesis of modern Christianity’s reduction of God to a mere theoretical framework, something best ascertained through scriptural knowledge and moral dogma. On the contrary, God is more than an abstract ideal or the inference of His creation. He constitutes reality itself and pulsates communal Love-energy through the universe, found in the quietude of each moment. Most professing believers file God away in the back of their minds and refer to Him for perhaps a couple hours a week. But the Bible declares that God can be experienced. He can be heard, felt, and touched: “Oh taste and see that the Lord is good” (Ps 34:8). The sheep hear the sound of His voice (Jn 10:3,27). God can be sensed through the spiritual faculties. Those who grope for God in their minds have no concept of the company of His presence in their hearts, what it means to be affectionately affianced.
Marriage is an apt analogy that illustrates the intimacy of a communal relationship with Christ, where the twain become one body and all consciousness of separation dissolves. At center appears Christ performing a wedding ceremony between Adam and Eve in the garden. God said it was not good for the man to be alone, so He created a companion that was bone of Adam’s bone, flesh of Adam’s flesh, fashioned from the rib of his side. This pictures the earthly marriage, a foreshadow of Christ marrying the believer in heaven (Rev 19:9, 21:2). Like Eve, believers are (re)created in the likeness of the husband, Christ. Similar to Adam’s rib, the church is born from the spear that pierced Christ’s side, the blood and water symbolizing atonement for sin and the Holy Spirit of eternal life.
That dragon, the serpent, also known as the devil, looks on at the wedding ceremony in the garden. When God said that eating of the tree of knowledge would result in death, Satan questioned Eve, “Did God say?” (Gen 3:1). From the moment the first couple ate of the forbidden fruit, they lost communion with God. Expelled from the garden of Eden, they were all too aware of the painful separation associated with sin, the sense of loss and forlorn abandonment. Their decedents were born in their likeness, a fallen state marred by corruption. The kingdom of earth originally bestowed to Adam passed over to Satan.
But God promised redemption. A Messiah would come, one who would crush the power of Satan underfoot. He would depose the physical creation and perfect a spiritual universe free of sin and corruption. His resurrection paved the way for spiritual union between God and man. The believer mysteriously adopts the body and blood of Christ, the alchemical marriage wherein the twain become one essence. Christ asks for your soul in marriage in exchange for His Spirit and a resurrected body in His likeness. In the words of the late pop icon Biggie Smalls, “If you don’t know… now you know.” You have been affectionately affianced, betrothed to the Master of the Universe.
A bride-to-be is given an engagement ring as a token of promise toward a future wedding. By this symbol, the groom reserves the woman as his own. Similarly, Christ proposes marriage to humanity on earth, promising to accept people as they are, despite what they have done. He wipes the slate clean from sin and offers every person a new beginning. For those who accept His proposal, He stands at the door of the heart with an engagement ring, a token that represents His promise to return to earth and consummate the relationship into a single body, a Holy union. The Holy Spirit is the seal of our betrothal, the engagement ring that guarantees our future redemption: “Now He who has prepared this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee” (2 Cor 5:5); “…having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance” (Eph 1:13-14).
The artwork depicts several engagement rings hoped around a series of skyscrapers. The skyscrapers resemble fingers of the earth, digits protruding from a hand. Believers fly off the buildings, propellers mounted on their backs, and ascend up to meet Christ in the heavens. They all pass through one of the engagement rings, signifying that they were sealed with the Holy Spirit. Another believer flies off a ship at center right, carrying His engagement ring to Christ. These scenes portray “The Rapture,” wherein Christ returns to earth for His fiancé. Believers from the corners of the globe will simultaneously be summoned to the sky, dramatically vanishing out of the world to leave the unbelievers behind: “Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left” (Mat 24:40-41); “Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air” (1 Thes 4:17).
A new believer trusts in Christ at center and is zapped by the Holy Spirit. His arms are outstretched in the form of a crucifix and an engagement ring drops from the sky. He becomes affectionately affianced, joining a larger collective body of believers worldwide who share a private and intimate relationship with Christ. The skyscrapers, In-n-Out Burger, and Amoeba Music are various renditions of the world, consumerism, and materialistic pursuits. Unlike the “lost” and wandering soul to his right, the new believer lives in the world but is no longer of the world. He possesses a heavenly inheritance, a direct frequency channel of communication to God. He enjoys “Peak Experiences” of divine awareness and Holy Communion, experiencing God.
The same “zapped” squiggly lines repeat in the form of a bridge that connects the world with a lake of Living Waters, a symbol of the Holy Spirit. The bridge proceeds from a caption that speaks of the Promised Land: “Go Forth from your Land and from your birthplace and from your father’s house, to the Land that I will show you” (Gen 12:1). Believers understand that this Promised Land is the inheritance of those with the engagement ring, a heavenly city, a spiritual home of eternal bliss. We are called to forsake our earthly heritage and renounce all Love for this world. We exchange our kindred blood ties for our husband Christ and the stronger bonds of faith that connect believers as brothers and sisters in His Spirit, parts of one collective body. The Promised Land of heaven shall have no tears or pain, no sun or moon. The face of Christ, the Shekinah glory of God shall always be visible in the sky, and we shall be clothed in His righteousness (Rev 21:23; 22:1, 4).
Not everybody will accept Christ’s marriage proposal. Scripture states that although Light came into the world, many preferred the darkness because their deeds were evil (Jn 3:19). They would rather maintain a love affair with sin than turn to Christ. Like the parable, they declare, “We will not have this man rule over us” (Luke 19:14). This spirit of disobedience is illustrated at bottom left, wherein two ranks of soldiers and a tank prepare to meet Christ on the battlefield. The adjacent caption reads, “The Revelation… How will you deal with it?” A machine-gun toting Christ states, “I Love you… and I know where you live.” For those who refuse Love’s invitation; for those who pursue evil and eschew righteousness, God will slay them with the breath of His mouth (Rev 19:15).
Children hang from closed windows in heaven, appearing in the upper corners of the artwork. At the rapture, those without engagement rings, without the sealing of the Holy Spirit, will be left behind. In contrast to believers who fly up to the Lord in the sky, these children of disobedience hang from the locked windows, unable to enter heaven. Gravity seemingly pulls them downward away from the Lord, suggesting a bottomless pit.
The Bible gives us a description of things to come. God’s written Word was penned not by men but God Himself: “All scripture is given by inspiration of God” (2 Tim 3:16). This is suggested at bottom right. Christ holds a pencil, scrawling in an open Bible. He authored all sixty-six books of the Bible, moving His Spirit through men to communicate exactly what He intended. He proposes marriage to humans, offering the engagement ring of His Holy Spirit, a down-payment on His promise to save us from this dying world. In His Love, we are blessed, sanctified for His purpose, set apart and protected from evil. We experience Him in communion, sense His presence in our hearts. We are wonderfully made, spiritually regenerated in His likeness. We are affectionately affianced, awaiting His return to earth wherein He will consummate the marriage of our salvation in whole.
Larry Word
When You are in Christ, Christ is in You
This title represents the paradox that when you are in Christ, Christ is in you. We need not look to religion but inside our very hearts and pray. The text “In You” appears overwhelmingly large in the left corner of the piece. Directly underneath it, the question is posed, “You In?” The text configuration can be read forwards, backwards, up, and down with the same result, thus emphasizing the paradox that if Christ is in you, then you are in Christ: “greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4).
I blended Eastern and Western concepts of spirituality to convey that a relationship with Christ transcends religious systems. It is not some abstract concept of morality but something that may be found right inside oneself, regardless of culture. At center, a Hindu shrine is cut to the shape of a cross with Christ appearing inside an egg-shaped mirror. The text, “Living from the Inside Out” appears above and “May the life within you be strong” is pasted underneath. The invitation to “Come inside,” is posted at the base of the cross.
The geometry of an egg is significant in this piece. The caption, “cosmic egg” reinforces this idea. Not only does Christ appear inside an egg-shaped mirror at center, but He is also flanked by before-and-after photos of a woman inside an egg at the extremities of the collage. The left-side portion represents a life before Christ, while the right side of the artwork portrays a life with Christ.
The body is the living temple of God, the eggshell for the spiritual embryo regenerated to life in the heart by the Holy Spirit. This is suggested by Christ in the mirror. One need not look to heaven to find God but inside one’s very heart.
The woman inside the egg at left appears scattered and discombobulated. At right, this same woman appears reconstituted, healthy, and vibrant. As the text underneath her indicates, this pictures “Before” and “After” spiritual regeneration and faith in Christ.
The new birth spoken of in Christianity is also intimated in Eastern religions. Chakras are said to be the mystic energy pathways that pervade throughout the body. Love and compassion are said to open the heart chakra and expand one’s consciousness to understand spiritual matters. This new spiritual awareness is compared to the opening of a lotus flower. At right, a blue Hindu figure holds a lotus flower above the regenerated egg. He has four arms, suggesting the duality of spirit and soul consciously dwelling in harmony together in one body.
Above the lotus flower, a man flies into the sky. He grew wings and hatched out of the egg. This pictures the fulfillment of God’s promise of eternal life and a bodily resurrection—we shall one day fly like the angels. Though we are physically born in these shells of flesh, through faith in Christ, believers will one day shine as the stars of the firmament.
The left and right sides of the artwork juxtapose life with and without Christ. At right, a man on one knee faces the cross with hands clasped, in prayer. This represents that regenerated “new man,” the spiritual creation born anew within the heart when we receive Christ: “Therefore if any man be in Christ he is a new creation” (2 Cor 5:17)
The antithesis of this regenerative, spiritual nature is the carnal man, also referred to as the “old man” or Adamic nature. This is portrayed on the left of the cross. Again, a man kneels. But instead of his hands clasped in prayer, his fists are clenched and he is ready to fight. This depicts the overt hostility the “old man,” carnal nature displays toward God. The carnal nature can never be in communal relationship with Christ, nor is it capable of pleasing God (Rom 8:7-8); Hence, the necessity of God re-creating a new man: “Put off the old man with his deeds… and put on the new man which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him” (Col 3:9-10); “For the carnal mind is enmity (hostile) against God” (Rom 8:6).
The man who sits in the chair further exemplifies the left side representing a life without Christ. His back turns away from the Savior. He looks to the fat cat dressed in red, white, and blue. This depicts man putting his faith in government and industry for solutions. The gray tone image sharply contrasts with the colors in the rest of the artwork, alluding to the depression and loneliness endured in a life turned away from Christ.
The man in the chair contrasts with the man with clinched fists. These represent two types of unbelievers. The man with clenched fists faces the cross but is openly hostile. This portrays those who have heard the Gospel but rejected it. The other man sits with his back turned to the cross. A phone is placed upon his ear, but he appears oblivious. The phone cord stretches back to Christ at center. This portrays unbelievers who have not heard the Gospel, the lost still being called by God. The cord passes through clasped hands, signifying the simplicity of prayer in responding to God’s call.
At right a man’s forehead displays an open computer terminal. A male adapter fits into the terminal and extends from Christ, passing through the center of an engagement ring. This pictures the Holy Spirit, which is often compared to an engagement ring, for it is the “pledge of our inheritance” (Eph 1:14). Just as a fiancé receives an engagement ring as a token of promise toward a future wedding, so too is the Holy Spirit a token of promise toward our salvation.
It is significant that the terminal appears on the man’s forehead, for that is where the “sealing” of the Holy Spirit occurs: “And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree, but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads” (Rev 9:4); “…Go through the midst of the city… and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof” (Ezek 9:4-6).
A life without Christ depicted on the left side of the collage leads to depression, hostility, and poor health. But the phone call to God is as easy as placing one’s hands together and praying. In contrast, a life with Christ promises “happiness guaranteed.” The pink flamingo with sunglasses symbolizes this guaranteed happiness enjoyed by believers. The open terminal on the man’s forehead suggests that all we must do is receive from Him. And, the sealing of the Holy Spirit is pictured by the engagement ring and the location of the terminal.
God invites us into covenant relationship with Him. This is alluded to by the crucified Savior upon the earth (appearing at the foot of the cross) and the lego Moses-man coming out of the darkness and holding the Ten Commandments. These picture the Old and New Covenants. While sinful man could not keep that first covenant of law, Christ fulfilled the law as the perfect God-man. This allowed Him to create a new contract with man. The New Covenant is simple: “Thou shalt Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with thy soul, and with all thy mind… Thou shalt Love thy neighbor as thyself. Upon these two commandments hang all the law and prophets” (Mat 22:37-40); “For the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself” (Gal 5:14).
The New Covenant pertains to a supernatural kind of Love that must be received and experienced to be understood. Christ abides in the believer’s heart, opening the “third-eye” to wisdom and germinating that spiritual embryo to life. This provides divine viewpoint and a new frame of reference. The New Covenant based on Love is mystically understood by the paradox: when you are in Christ, Christ is in you. Are you in Him? Is He in you?
Larry Word
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)