Monochrome

I have not seen any green grass since the beginning of December.
Two months of looking out the window and seeing nothing but white.
It has been a monochromatic winter.

Between the gray skies and the white ground, I long for color.
I long for spring when the world comes alive.
I long for splashes of color everywhere.

A friend of mine, along with her three children, was tired of seeing white as well.
They decorated the snow with food coloring and water in spray bottles.
The result was a lovely work of art that they can view from their deck each day.

People tend to feel a bit dreary during the winter.
I am certain that the lack of color has something to do with it.
Nothing to stimulate the senses.
Nothing to make us wake up and take notice.

White…is not a mere absence of colour; it is a shining and affirmative thing, as fierce as red, as definite as black…God paints in many colours; but He never paints so gorgeously, I had almost said so gaudily, as when He paints in white. (G. K. Chesterton)

I wonder if Chesterton had been surrounded by nothing but white for two months?
White presents itself as a backdrop.
The clean canvas upon which everything else is drawn.
The clean paper upon which everything else is written.

The silhouettes of trees are stunning against the background of white.
The new fallen snow, with no footprints to mar it, is the essence of purity.
White is the color against which everything else can be seen.
To many, the color white is sterile and uninviting.

It is said that there is such a thing as a psychology of color.
There have been studies done to see how color affects our moods and behavior.
There seems to be no neutrality to the color white.
You either like white or you don’t.

When we built our second house, I couldn’t wait to finally put color on the walls.
The “builder’s white” as it was called, needed to go!
In it’s place, we painted warm colors that made each room feel like home.
Color made it feel like home to me.

The palette of colors that God uses in His creation is astounding.
Anything we do, only mimics what God has already done.
To think that berries and flower petals were crushed to make natural paint and dye.
Things like charcoal, mud, and the outer skin of an onion made black, brown, and yellow.

In the 18th century and earlier, preparing pigments for paint was an apprentice’s job.
It was laborious work.
The apprentice had to grind the powdered pigment as fine as possible.
The pigments were mixed with egg yolk, oils, or milk to create paint.

We mix things in nature to manufacture color that God has already created.
We can try to copy what God has already done, but we can never improve it.
It is masterful, perfect, and pleasing to the eye.
God created color and everything else for our pleasure and His glory.

After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John with Him and led them up a high mountain where they were all alone. There He was transfigured before them. His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses who were talking with Jesus. Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters, one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.) Then a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and a voice came from the cloud. “This is My Son, whom I love. Listen to Him!” Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus. As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus gave them strict orders not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. They kept the matter to themselves, discussing what “rising from the dead” meant. (Mark 9:2-10)

Peter, James, and John had the unique privilege of seeing Jesus’ glory.
The glory that had been there all along.
The glory that the Father allowed them to see by pulling back the veil just a bit.
They saw Jesus the way He really is: The Son of God, in all His glory and splendor.

Jesus’ clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them.
Jesus, the pure, sinless One; fully God and fully man.
What other color could His clothes have possibly been?
Whiter than anyone could ever bleach them because pure color belongs to God alone.

White had never look so beautiful.
White had never looked so radiant.
White, in its entire splendor, simply dazzled.

When pure white light passes through a prism, it separates into all of the visible colors.
In and through Jesus, is the essence of all Creation.

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. (Colossians 1:15-17)

Jesus, in all His glory and splendor.
Simply dazzling!

 

2 responses to “Monochrome”

1. Gina, I love this message. While I too am tired of all the snow, its white color is the color of purity. I certainly imagine Jesus in a white robe in heaven. Paintings of Him while He was on earth all dress Him in white–I wonder if He did always wear it or sometimes wore other colors. You are right in saying that not one of all the artists who has ever lived can compare with the true Creator and the beautiful world He gave us to live in. I thank Him every day for His glorious creation that inspires me so much.

   Reply

   • Sue,
     Isn’t God amazing? The Master Artist, the Maker of Colors.
     How blessed we are.
     Gina

     Reply