The Invitation
Art has always fascinated me – a snapshot of God’s beauty captured through either imagination or real time often reflects the nature of God. My office is filled with portraits of little-known artists, famous ones, and even my own children telling their story of God’s faithfulness. In a sermon a few weeks ago, I mentioned a portrait titled “The Invitation,” inspired by the passage out of Revelation 19:9.
“Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!”
This portrait is an artist’s imagination painted on canvas of what it will be like when he arrives at our Eternal Home. The Lord’s invitation to the great banquet He has prepared for us since the foundations of the world. The invitee, on his knees in the snow, barefooted, the underserved pointing to himself, being lifted up by Christ, while all the saints of God sitting at the heavenly banquet table awaiting his arrival.
Two decades later that image stuck with me. During the height of Covid I came across an interview from the artist, Morgan Weistling. It is a fascinating listen of how he transitioned from being a Hollywood writer to painting images that reflect the greatness of God. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6oye1Eorm0
(Through my detective skills!), I was able to contact him and asked how I might acquire this painting. Months later, he located one in the back of his studio and sent a signed copy to me which now hangs on my office wall. Every day I see it, I experience the inconsolable longing for Home.
