Art Reflections at a Conference

At a conference last month, I brought along some art materials and had the space to create during some of the devotion sessions.

Day 1

On the first day, I was struck by a point made by the morning speaker about the breath of God and decided to draw it during the afternoon prayer time. But I felt led to add streaks of red, representing suffering. And I realised that when He breathed into us, His breath carried the suffering that He knew was ahead both for His Son and all humanity. Hence, the fellowship of suffering (Philippians 3:10).

Then I was prompted to crush the paper and open it up again. Similarly, we may be crushed on all sides but we will not be destroyed because He is in and with us (2 Corinthians 4:8-10).

Out of the miry clay,

He lifted us up

And breathed into us-

His breath of life,

Filled with His Spirit,

Tinged with His blood

Of co-suffering foreknown.

One in Him, we are

Crushed but not destroyed

For His breath 

In us lives on.

After I was done, I felt led to pick up an envelope with random Bible verses and prayer pointers provided by the facilitators. God-incidentally, the passage I got was 1 Peter 4:1-2, which reinforced the message from the picture and poem:

Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin. As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God.

Day 2

 

On the second morning, the thought just came to me to make a crown of thorns, so I cut out some magazine covers and started rolling and squeezing them. In the process, I was suddenly overwhelmed by the realisation that I was making a crown of thorns for Jesus. Should I continue? Why would I want to place the suffering on Him? But I felt compelled to keep going.

The magazine covers were rather stiff and they needed to be in order to form (and hold) the ring shape. However, rolling and squeezing them eventually led to pain in my thumbs. At this point, the speaker was talking about how Jesus wants us to share in His experiences. And that's when I knew I was actually making the crown of thorns for myself, as I share in His suffering (Philippians 3:10).

I looked for washi tape to bind the rolled paper together and found one that had doves on it. Then I thought I needed red (His blood) and gold (His glory) for the crown. There was a roll of red wrapping paper with the words, "This is your present" on it and I felt it was an appropriate phrase to describe how Jesus' suffering on the cross was a gift for us (Romans 6:23). But later on I also thought that it aptly expresses how in the present time we too bear the cross (including the crown of thorns) daily (Luke 9:23).

I used gold washi tape to stick the red paper onto the ring but it wasn't sticky enough. So I had to use more of the tape with doves. Under the red and gold, some of the doves from the inner layer peeped through - that seemed to represent how we can have inner peace even in the midst of pain and suffering (John 14:27). But the doves on the outermost layer also pointed to how He will restore peace when He returns one day (Isaiah 2:4).

The crown is made entirely of paper (magazine covers, washi tape, wrapping paper). And paper comes from wood. [I used some white glue to stick the thorns and I found out later that it's sometimes called wood glue even though it's not made of wood.] So basically the crown of thorns is made from trees, just like the one that Jesus wore.

Day 3 - Didn't create anything as I was helping to facilitate some creative reflection activities.

Day 4

Was inspired by the flowers in the resort one morning and decided to draw this during the devotion time. 

The water lily emerges from the murky waters yet it looks bright and pristine. Its leaves even help to purify the water around it.

So no matter how difficult the external circumstances may be, let us rise above all that, and bloom and grow into the person God designed us to be. Even in the midst of pain and suffering, we can be His peacemakers to bring peace to people and situations around us (Matthew 5:9).

Day 5 - Didn't create anything as I was helping to facilitate some creative reflection activities.

Day 6 - Didn't create anything as I was helping to watch a little boy while listening to the message.

Day 7

During the morning devotion time, I saw in my mind the crown of thorns being transformed into a crown of glory when the speaker was saying that one day we will receive our crowns from Him (1 Peter 5:4).

The transformation is only possible by His blood. And incidentally, the red twisty crayon was broken just like His body was broken for us (1 Corinthians 11:24). But because the broken pieces were no longer contained in the twisty case, I could use the long sides to colour in the red stream. Similarly, we also can be used by Him to reveal His glory through our brokenness. This is further illustrated in the crown of glory which is made with washi tape that has golden streaks creating a kintsugi effect - we are broken but redeemed for His glory (2 Corinthians 4:7)!

Someone commented that the crown looks like a burning bush. My desire is that all I do will be of eternal value so that on the day when we go through the fire, all of my "achievements" will endure and be refined as gold (1 Corinthians 3:10-15) so I will hear Him say, "Good and faithful servant (Matthew 25:23)!"

Day 8

Created this during the final morning devotion time. Two pieces of paper joined together with washi tape, symbolising how we are joined with Christ (1 Corinthians 6:17). 

In the stormy seas there is the red of His blood - we share in His suffering so He also shares in ours as we go through the storms of life (Hebrews 4:15). But from there a rainbow emerges, a reminder that we have hope because He has promised that when we abide in Him, He will abide in us (John 15:4).

Reflections

I don't think all the speakers at the conference were focusing on suffering but somehow God was directing me to think about this topic. Yet, it wasn't in a gloomy or depressing way. He showed through all these co-created art that out of His suffering and ours will come peace, hope, glory and beauty.

NDP 2018 - the next generation, hope for the future

This was my favourite scene from the National Day Parade last night (celebrating the 53rd year of Singapore). My next favourite part would be the parallels drawn between those who literally built our nation in the past (Samsui women) and those who continue building in the present (foreign construction workers). Anyway, back to this photo! It shows the student uniformed groups marching up the spectator stands, waving at and high-fiving members of the audience. The commentary went something like this, "There's the symbolism of having these students embody the commitment, energy and dynamism of young Singaporeans as they chart a path to a greater future for Singapore."

Looking at these fresh, happy faces, I certainly felt the joy and hope for a bright future for them as individuals and for us all as a nation. However, I was moved not only by this. I had mixed feelings due to having heard about four young people aged between 18 and 21 who had taken their own lives, all within the past three weeks. These four were just like the young people featured at the parade, yet their course through life had ended abruptly. I had been grieving the loss of these young lives and the promise that each of them had held. So when I saw this portion of the NDP, the sense of hope for the next generation was once again revived in me!

It begs the question though, of what we must do to help and support these young people in order for them to achieve that bright future. Youth nowadays face much more pressures and stress than we did. Instead of the two exams a year I used to have, many of them now have to take weekly tests too. And while we who were in the performing arts groups had a year's break between each SYF competition, they are now made to enter various regional/international competitions during that in-between year.

Some may say we just need a structural change, a revamp of the education system for instance. Yet, I think that it requires everyone of us to have an attitude change. At the societal level, there is a cause-and-effect mentality where we expect certain results (output) after all the resources that have been invested (input) in our young. But we mustn't forget that these are individuals with unique interests, talents, challenges and struggles.

So regardless of whether you have a young person under your direct care or not, the next time you meet one, don't just ask them about their exams or results. Be genuinely interested in what they are passionate about, and show real concern for the burdens that they carry. We may not be able to change the system on our own, but by sharing our ears, hearts and love with them, we will make all the difference in their lives.

W - Two Worlds [Spoiler Alert!!!]

This Korean drama series, W - Two Worlds, really got to me. It broke the mould of the typical K drama formula (which will be the subject of another post) and got many viewers, including myself, drawn into the manhwa world (pun intended!) I also started to see many parallels between the story and the Biblical narrative so I'm going to try and describe some of them here. But if you haven't watched it yet and would rather do that first, it's available here. This site also provides well-written synopses of each episode with accompanying (mostly) thoughtful remarks.

What gave you the right to create me?
So the entire plot is based on how the female protaganist Yeon Joo (Han Hyo Joo) is pulled into the world of a webtoon W created by her Dad.  She meets and gradually falls for the main character Kang Chul (Lee Jong Suk). Later on Kang Chul also finds a way to step into the real world and meets his creator, Yeon Joo's Dad. However, he is boiling with anger as he feels that Dad has been unfair in killing off his entire family without good reason near the start of the webtoon. He demands an explanation and argues that Dad had no right to decide on such a horrendous life for him.

This reminded me of Job's tussle with God after he lost his family, everything he owned and even his health. And just like Job and his friends, many people mistakenly conceive of God as one who either has no control over what He has created and hence can't stop all the evil and suffering in the world, and/or that God flicks us around like pawns according to His whims and fancies without sparing a thought for our feelings. But we know that this is not who God really is. Unlike Dad in the drama who is self-centred and helpless in the face of his creature (he got shot by Kang Chul), our God is not only all-powerful and sovereign over the entire universe He created, He is also loving and merciful. However, He has given us free will (which I'll talk about more later) and because of sin, we keep making poor decisions and that is the reason for all the evil and suffering in the world. But God does not watch on helplessly. On the contrary, He is always at work to redeem our mistakes according to His plans for the world and for each one of us.

Christ figure
Anyway, halfway through the drama, Yeon Joo is reminded that she was in fact the creator of the main character Kang Chul. While a teenager, she had described and drawn him as her imaginary perfect boyfriend (more about this later) and her Dad had taken it up for the webtoon without her knowledge. So just like Jesus was with God from the beginning of creation, she was co-creator with Dad. Not only that, she also enters the created world, as Jesus did. And while there, Yeon Joo exercises her skills as a doctor and keeps saving Kang Chul's life. That is similar to how Jesus healed the sick and raised the dead while He walked the earth.

Yeon Joo's resemblance to Christ extends further to her unconditional love for Kang Chul that bears all, even forgiving him for shooting her Dad. That is reminiscent of how Jesus asked God to forgive those who crucified him while He hung on the cross. In addition, even though they subsequently realise that she is mortal in the webtoon world and the Killer is after her life, she is determined to stay in it for as long as she can because of her love for Kang Chul. Again, that reflects the same self-sacrificial love of Christ who came to our world to die for our sins. Eventually, she dies and is resurrected within the webtoon world, although it's not very clear whether it happens within the same time frame as Jesus'. But her resurrection is brought about by her Dad (through his drawing), as Jesus was raised from the dead through the power of God.

Born again of water
Kang Chul also experiences rebirth in his own way after he jumps into the Han river and everything in his world including his life is suspended. He is pulled out of the river and given a new life by Yeon Joo (through her drawings). This spoke to me of water baptism where symbolically our 'old self' dies when we are immersed in the water and then we are given a 'new life' in Christ when we emerge from the water.

After his 'water baptism', in this new life, Kang Chul has a whole new perspective because he realises that everything he used to seek after in the webtoon world is meaningless (fame, fortune, revenge) now that he has discovered his true destiny (ie to love Yeon Joo, his creator). Isn't this what those of us who love and pursue God experience too? All that the world can ever offer us pales in comparison to the wonder and beauty of His love, and any other pursuit is a mere chasing after the wind (or bubbles!)

Created for love
I mentioned earlier how there is a flashback to Yeon Joo's teenage years when she had created Kang Chul as her dream lover. He is destined to love her, for that is the purpose of his existence. Hence we see how after his rebirth the only thing that he finds fulfilment in, and it becomes his main pursuit, is to love and please her. In fact, even before that, Kang Chul is mysteriously attracted to Yeon Joo from the first time he sets eyes on her. Even after his memory has been erased, he is unexplainably intrigued by her. In the end, even though he has to stay in prison for three years, he finds joy and strength in the hope that when it is over he will be able to spend the rest of his life with Yeon Joo in the real world.

We were also created out of God's love and His desire for a relationship of love with us. Our love for Him propels us to seek His pleasure in all that we do. And until we realise this, many of us try to fill that longing for intimacy with Him by seeking after other 'loves'. But ultimately, we will not experience true fulfilment until we find and acknowledge our one true love. And this is the only love that can sustain and strengthen us through whatever trials and tribulations, even persecution, we may face in this life for we know that one day we will meet our Beloved face to face and spend eternity with Him.

Free will vs predestination
It is also because of love that God has given us a free will. A forced love is not real love, but only one that is freely given in reciprocation can be considered love. And that leads to the age-long debate over free will and predestination. The interplay between how Kang Chul is predestined to love Yeon Joo and how he is also given the self will to choose whether to pursue the love of his life (eg he decides to complete the 10 loving acts even though he has lost his memory of their relationship) perhaps gives us a glimpse of how free will and predestination actually work together hand in hand.

Another character also illustrates the dynamics between free will and predestination - Han Chul Ho. Yeon Joo comments at one point that he will no doubt try to eliminate the Killer because that's how his character has been set up yet Han is also shown to have self will in making that very decision.

Impostor god
The Killer is a nameless and faceless character whose sole purpose is to kill Kang Chul's family. Nevertheless, he becomes dissatisfied. He longs to be the centre of attraction and wants to take over as the main character of the webtoon. Consequently, the Killer steals Dad's face and tries to play God by controlling Dad to draw stuff for him in the webtoon in order to change the plot. He even pretends to be Dad in order to trick Yeon Joo and kidnap her.

This is not unlike Satan who became jealous of God and was thrown out of heaven as a result. He then tried to usurp God's place as the centre of worship as seen in how he tempted Jesus by offering Him all the kingdoms of the world if only Jesus would worship him. In fact, Satan still tries to get us to worship him instead of God by tempting us with worldly things like material wealth, power, fame, lust...the list goes on... But just like how Yeon Joo subsequently recognises that the Killer isn't Dad even though he has the same face, we also need to be alert and not fall prey to the lies of the wolf in sheep's clothing, the impostor god.

Even though the Killer does manage to kidnap Yeon Joo and  eventually shoots her fatally, he does not gain the final victory for he is killed and Yeon Joo is resurrected. This is analogous to how Satan thought he had triumphed over God when His Son was crucified and died, but with Jesus' resurrection he was defeated once and for all and Jesus won the final victory!

[I shall end here with this point. Despite having started writing this entry more than a week ago, it must be divine timing that I've completed it only now when we've just been celebrating Jesus' resurrection over the Easter weekend.]