Art in Scripture: Be Anxious for NothingSýnishorn

The Garden of Eden, 1828
THOMAS COLE
Oil on canvas, 97.8 x 134 cm, Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas; Courtesy of Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas

Opening Prayer:

O LORD, as we spend time with art and Scripture today, stir within us those longings which tie us to our awaited togetherness with You.

Open our minds to the evidence of our souls’ longings for You, that we may more deeply rejoice in the ultimate satisfaction You will be to these questions, curiosities, and desires.

Guide our eyes to connections between our hearts and minds and those of your children who penned Scripture millennia ago: the questions we ponder, confidence for which we grasp, and beauty we crave.

Thoughts for Reflection:

Take your time looking over the painting above, finding the plant or layer or color that most catches your eye.

Cole’s illustration reminds us that God not only cares about meeting needs but also has a wondrous heart for the beautiful. Functionality is fulfilled long before color enters the scene, but God created color. Water keeps plants alive wherever it comes from, but God routed it along meadows and beaches and cascading off mountains. Food sustains us regardless of flavor or variety, but God invented innumerable fruits and herbs and spices for His kids. God seems to care not only about the functionality of His world but also about delight.

After referencing God’s providence for the birds, Jesus moves on to talk about God’s care for the flowers in their beauty. He moves from necessities to delights. What does this do to the way we pray? The things we talk about with a Creator who shares a heart for wonder and creativity and beauty? The way we imagine His face as we enjoy a good meal or laughter or a stunning view? The desires we might say are unimportant but seem, according to creation, to be of much importance to the God who is not only interested in our survival and goodness?

Continue to ponder the details of this painting and the choices that God made in creation as you read the next section of words from Jesus.