Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Art (01/18/07)
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TITLE: Day Labor | Previous Challenge Entry
By Samuel Johnson
01/21/07 -
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“Good morning, my name is John Samson from the temp services,” I said to the receptionist inside the door of the museum’s lobby.
“Good morning Mr. Samson, I’ve been expecting you. We are having an extra group coming through today, plus our normal schools. It seems as if something happened to the heat over at the college and the Art Appreciation class wants to spend the day here. Here is a map of the museum, I’ve high-lined the area where they will be having their class, so you can go ahead on down there, familiarize yourself with the directions and then come back up here. The class won’t be here for another hour or so. Any questions?”
“Nope, I guess you just about covered everything,” I smiled as I turned to leave. I stood looking at the map and at the lobby as my worst fears became a reality. College art students, how could you do this to me God? What have I done so wrong?
“The hallway on the left Mr. Samson.”
“Thank you Mam.”
I found my way to the class area and back just as the students were filing in. Was I intimidated? Maybe just a little. These were college students and I was just a poor retired carpenter trying to supplement my meager Social Security income by working at Day Labor. I can do all things through God, I kept telling myself.
Put me in with that group of people that Jesus said, “Oh yea of little faith.” As it turned out all that I had to do was follow the teacher as he led them through the museum to the class area. He was way more familiar with the museum than I was and stopped at various paintings and made commentaries on each one for his class as they discussed the paintings.
“Now class look at this painting, it has a very rough texture to it and the artist has put a lot of emotion into it. Notice how the mountain stands out from the canvas. This is done by the shading of the clouds at the top and the shading behind the mountain. The artist used the same technique around the main figure within the painting to make him stand out from the mountain that he is coming down from. The face is where the artist managed to allow his emotions to show through, that look of disgust, anger, disappointment and rage at the village that he is looking upon.”
The students each made their critiques on the painting and were about to leave when I spoke up. My mouth just started speaking on it’s own as I said, “You have all missed the most important message in this painting, one that the artist was truly trying to convey I believe. The stone tablets that Moses is carrying, the Ten Commandments, God’s Law. These are the guidelines for our lives, just as you have guidelines for these paintings; God told us what His guidelines are. Are there any here that haven’t lied, haven’t received the wrong change at the checkout line and kept it, or haven’t taken something home from work or school that wasn’t rightfully yours? That’s lying and stealing, so by your own admission, you are liars and thieves. That’s just two of the Ten Commandments that you have broken and God will judge each of us when we die, and we will all die some day. But I believe that the artist was trying to get that message across.”
The murmuring started slowly and grew as students began to ask me what they could do and tell us about Jesus and on and on. Needless to say the day was very enjoyable as the Holy Spirit was allowed to do His work and seeds were planted in fertile ground.
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