Self portrait

The extensive work of the painter Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669) has been enriched by one painting. The small portrait "Old Man with a Beard", whose creator was previously unknown, can now be clearly attributed to the famous Dutch artist, said the recognized Rembrandt expert Ernst van de Wetering in Amsterdam.

Using advanced scanning techniques, scientists examined the Rembrandt painting. To her great surprise, the scan showed that there was another painting underneath the artwork - one that could be an early, unfinished self-portrait of the artist. It seems that Rembrandt started with a self-portrait and later used the canvas to paint the old man with a beard.

History can help us spot a mistake we might make in trying to understand God. Most of us grew up believing that God is like the visible image - an old man with a beard. That's the way religious artists portray God. We not only imagine God to be old, but also as a distant, rather threatening living being, rigid and angry quickly when we do not live up to his impossible standards. But this way of thinking about God is like the painting of the old man under which the self-portrait is hidden.

The Bible tells us that if we want to know what God is like, we should only look to Jesus Christ: "Jesus is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn before all creation" (Colossians 1,15).
To get a true idea of ​​what God really is, we need to look beneath the layers of popular concepts about God and begin to see God revealed in Jesus Christ. When we do this, a true and unbiased picture and understanding of God will emerge. Only then can we find out what God really thinks of us. Jesus says: “So long have I been with you and you don't know me, Philip? Whoever sees me sees the father. Then how do you say: Show us the Father? " (John 14,9).

Only Jesus shows us what God really is. Far from being a distant and aloof person, he showed that God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - loves us unconditionally. God isn't out there in heaven somewhere, looking angry at us and ready to strike and punish. “Do not be afraid, you little flock! For it pleased your father to give you the kingdom »(Luke 12,32).

The Bible tells us that God sent Jesus into the world because he loves the world - not to judge humanity, but to save it. «The Lord does not delay the promise as some consider it a delay; but he has patience with you and does not want anyone to be lost, but that everyone should find repentance »(2. Petrus 3,9).

As soon as the layers of misunderstanding are overcome, the image of a God is revealed who loves us more than we can imagine. "What my father has given me is greater than everything, and no one can tear it out of the father's hand" (John 10,29).

Through Jesus we are shown the true heart of God for us. We see him for who he really is, not somewhere far away and neither angry nor indifferent to us. He is right here with us, ready when we turn to receive his loving embrace, just as Rembrandt depicts in another of his paintings, The Return of the Prodigal Son.

Our problem is that we are in our own way. We use our own colors and draw our own lines. Sometimes we can completely remove God from the picture. Paul said: "We all reflect the glory of the Lord with our faces uncovered, and we are changed into his image from one glory to another by the Lord who is the Spirit" (2. Corinthians 3,18). Under all this, the Holy Spirit makes us the image of Jesus who is the Father's self-portrait. As we grow spiritually, this picture should become more and more apparent. Don't let other images obstruct your view of who God is or how God thinks of you. Look at Jesus, who alone is the self-portrait of God, his image.

by James Henderson