An excellent metaphor
On a more "up" note, I thought I'd share an extremely insightful metaphor with you. I'm big into understanding things in terms of how they relate to other things, so metaphors are right up my alley. Sarah shared the following one with me, and I think it's really excellent:
When we are looking for items to decorate our houses, we'll often hang a piece of art on the wall. The most important thing to do in choosing art is to get the right piece in the first place. Once you've chosen a piece of art, you can choose a mat and frame that suit it.
Now, there are lots of different combinations of mats and frames that will work wonderfully with any given piece of art. Each frame and mat pulls out different colors and textures in the artwork, emphasizing greens or reds or golds. In fact, the same piece of art often looks quite different depending on the frame and mat you select.
But as important as they are, the frame and mat aren't the point. The point is the artwork itself. That's what you loved in the first place; the frame and the mat exist entirely to present the art in the best possible way.
Different churches are that way. Lutherans, because of our theological "colors," tend to draw out certain elements of the masterpiece that is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Catholics draw out other aspects, and present the picture just a bit differently. Methodists, Baptists, Reformed and every other church bring certain "colors" to our attention, and help us to see the picture in a new light. Each denomination is a different frame to the Gospel, presenting it to the world just a bit differently from all the others.
But the point isn't the "frames," no matter how important and beautiful they may be. The point is always the masterpiece in the center - Jesus. Christians don't worship frames and mats. We worship Christ the great Work of Art. All the different "frames" and "mats" of our religious traditions simply help present Christ to the world in the best possible way we know how.
Isn't that a great image? I hope I presented it as well as Sarah did. It was definitely one of those "aha!" moments for me. I'll have to chew on it for a while. =)
When we are looking for items to decorate our houses, we'll often hang a piece of art on the wall. The most important thing to do in choosing art is to get the right piece in the first place. Once you've chosen a piece of art, you can choose a mat and frame that suit it.
Now, there are lots of different combinations of mats and frames that will work wonderfully with any given piece of art. Each frame and mat pulls out different colors and textures in the artwork, emphasizing greens or reds or golds. In fact, the same piece of art often looks quite different depending on the frame and mat you select.
But as important as they are, the frame and mat aren't the point. The point is the artwork itself. That's what you loved in the first place; the frame and the mat exist entirely to present the art in the best possible way.
Different churches are that way. Lutherans, because of our theological "colors," tend to draw out certain elements of the masterpiece that is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Catholics draw out other aspects, and present the picture just a bit differently. Methodists, Baptists, Reformed and every other church bring certain "colors" to our attention, and help us to see the picture in a new light. Each denomination is a different frame to the Gospel, presenting it to the world just a bit differently from all the others.
But the point isn't the "frames," no matter how important and beautiful they may be. The point is always the masterpiece in the center - Jesus. Christians don't worship frames and mats. We worship Christ the great Work of Art. All the different "frames" and "mats" of our religious traditions simply help present Christ to the world in the best possible way we know how.
Isn't that a great image? I hope I presented it as well as Sarah did. It was definitely one of those "aha!" moments for me. I'll have to chew on it for a while. =)
posted by Bob at
9:10 PM
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