From the cave drawings of Lascaux to the proliferation of blogs, the human desire for self-expression is more than evident.
Lately I have been intrigued by two forms of expression less ancient than cave drawings, but far older than weblogs:
- sidewalk art (for some amazing examples, visit these sites:
- sidewalk messages, impressed into the cement while still soft, and destined to be read by passersby every day, at least until a new sidewalk is laid. Here are some examples of messages found around Gainesville:
1. Avowals of love.
The picture below reads “Tupelo -N- Zack.”
One beside the church says “I love DIXIE,” but it is not clear whether Dixie is a girlfriend or the area of the country.
2. Recommendations
Near the church (which is also near the university), there is a solemn recommendation, “Study Philosophy.” A second advises, less solemnly, “Smoke Pot.” Beside our own house: “Peace.” Other suggestions can’t be printed here.
3. Poetry wannabes
A verse spread over two slabs of concrete: “Though Lost Love’s / woe with time’s reduced, / She rambles & stumbles / ’til again seduced.” So far, Shakespeare’s position remains unthreatened.
God’s sidewalk art
It should probably not surprise us that human beings are fond of self-expression. After all, we are made in the image and likeness of God, whose self-expression is everywhere we look. The first verse of John’s prologue, “In the beginning was the Word,” is rendered by J. B. Phillips, “At the beginning God expressed himself.”
While God’s self-expression is fulfilled in Jesus the Christ, the only Son, it is not limited to the Incarnation. The psalmist exclaims, “The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.” And in Ephesians Paul says that “we are God’s work of art” ( 2:10, Jerusalem Bible).
As God’s creation, we are, indeed, works of art – sidewalk art and sidewalk poetry in the sense that every day for our whole lives, all who pass by see the work of God. Through us God expresses who Christ is, and therefore who God is.
And so I pray:
Loving God,
may the message which others read in my life
communicate the truth of your mercy and love,
and always be a sign of the glorious hope
promised us in Jesus Christ.