Dots of Paint

Seurat - He painted with dots.

Its a mnemonic device I picked up so that, years after a college Art Appreciation class, I still remember at least one artist and his style!

Georges Seurat is most well known for A Sunday on La Grande Jatte which hangs in the Art Institute in Chicago.

I've seen it in person.
It's incredible!

The painting is roughly six by ten feet, making the people nearly life sized; aand the entire painting is made up of zillions of dots. (okay, maybe not a zillion but you get the idea...)

The official art term is pointillism, defined as "a technique of painting in which small distinct dots of pure color and applied in patterns to form an image.

Close up it looks like this...

Amazing...

When all the points of color are put in their places it becomes more than just a myriad of random paint, it's transformed into an image.

We've been discussing this concept in church recently.
 Every one of us is like a bucket of paint and God is and has been stirring into our lives all the relationships and circumstances and talents and personality that makes us into the "color" that we are: a particular shade, a distinctive pigment.  And then, God takes His brush and paints us into His picture; the picture He's been creating throughout all of history.  He puts us where He needs us: a point of a unique color; in a specific place, for His glory, and, ultimately to display His image.

Individually we're dots of paint.
Random pigments on the planet.

Yet God has a plan.
It's the Romans 8:28 idea, "And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him".  And while that is true for every individual life it's bigger than just one person - it's how God is working all things, in all places, throughout all of time to show humanity how He is God.

Perhaps today God will show Himself to this needy world because you will act as God's hands to a neighbor in need; or as His voice in encouraging one who is discouraged. If  you hear His voice prompting you to act, to love, to pray, to help, to witness, to minister; do it.

He's putting you on His canvas.