I love this picture. One alternate title for the Savior is "the Good Shepherd" (John 10:11, Alma 5:38, etc.). Who can deny that this painting beautifully illustrates that title?
Jesus is holding the sheep gently in His arms, yet strongly and securely enough to ensure the sheep will not fall from His embrace. To me, He looks pleased that He has been reunited with this sheep. Even the sheep seems calm and content to be once more in the protection its Master's arms.
A few weeks ago, I attended a fireside where we were taught how to share the gospel better. Without a doubt, one of the most important things I learned in that meeting was the importance and potential influence of beautiful art.
One missionary there told us he was going to show us how to share the message of the restoration of Christ's church* in 5 minutes or less. There's a pamphlet that missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints use to help explain the restoration. On the cover of said pamphlet is the picture you see up above.
I won't go through and tell you absolutely everything this missionary did when he was teaching the restoration. But, I will tell you that he didn't go through and read the pamphlet word-for-word to the investigator (who was actually just a fellow missionary pretending to be an investigator). He used the pictures. Not only that, he always asked the investigator what he saw in each picture, and how he felt about them, and what message he thought was being portrayed.
Something that really caught my attention was the very first thing this missionary pointed out. In the pamphlet, the cover is considered page 1 (like, literally--the back of the front cover is page 2, and the next is marked as page 3). So, that means it must be important. He asked the investigator what he saw in the picture on the front (again, it's the one above).
After listening and responding to the investigator's answer, this missionary pointed out that in the background, you can see mountains. He posed the question: Is that somewhere a sheep generally belongs?
No?
Conclusion: The sheep must have been wandering far from home, lost. But now, it has been found. The scriptures say, "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 53:6, qtd. in Mosiah 14:6).
Each of us goes through times (or at least one of them) when we are lost--whether we know it or not. We have to make the choice to allow the Lord to find us. He is always reaching out toward us. But it's our responsibility and precious opportunity to reach back. The Lord will never let go. We may let our hands fall from His because of our own actions, but He will never stop trying to call us back.
That is why we have all of the amazing resources we do. We have prayer, scriptures, temples*, families*, a living prophet*... We have the promise of eternal life with Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ, as long as we do our best*.
I know Jesus Christ--the Only Begotten Son of God, the Light of the World, the Good Shepherd--is my Lord and Savior. I know my Heavenly Father loves and knows me, and that He hears and answers my sincere prayers. I know without a doubt that the Book of Mormon is God's word, as is the Bible. I love this gospel, and I'm thankful for the opportunity I have to share it with you.
*Extra Resources:
Restoration: http://mormon.org/beliefs/restoration (don't forget to click on the little arrows just after the timeline)
Temples: http://mormon.org/faq/topic/temples/question/use-of-temples
Importance of families: http://mormon.org/values/family
Prophet: http://mormon.org/faq/topic/prophets
Eternal life: http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/2-ne/31.20?lang=eng#19 (2 Nephi 31:20)
The painting featured in this post can be found on lds.org at: http://www.lds.org/media-library/images/gospel-art/new-testament?lang=eng&start=31&end=40#lost-lamb-art-lds-425852
I'd like to...
Learn more about Jesus Christ: http://mormon.org/beliefs/jesus-christ
Request a free copy of the Book of Mormon: http://mormon.org/free-book-of-mormon
Request a free copy of the Bible: http://mormon.org/free-bible
Meet with missionaries: http://mormon.org/missionaries
Locate a meetinghouse: http://mormon.org/worship
Find a family history center: https://familysearch.org/locations/centerlocator
Chat with Church representatives: http://mormon.org/chat
Read frequently asked questions: http://mormon.org/faq
No comments:
Post a Comment