When Greatness Meets Emptiness

What happens when good things become ultimate things? In the end, they starve, enslave, and divide us. Human emptiness is a God-shaped void, even in the lives of notorious people like Michael Jordan. And, unfortunately, the last place we usually go to solve our pressing problems is to God, via the Scriptures, in the person of Jesus Christ. Bottom line, we would rather live in our disordered loves than seek real, satisfying answers. We are all worshipers, whether of good things, of ourselves, of evil impulses, or of God.

When Greatness Meets Emptiness--Michael Jordan at 50 

"Word of God" by Mian Situ

   I love this picture (a painting entitled "Word of God," by Mian Situ). It seems to be a painting that brings out the truths in the parable of the sower from (Matt 13:1-9; 18-23).
   A clergyman, looking heavenward, is declaring the Word of God to a diversity of hearers, some engaged, others partially engaged, and still others ignoring him. All of these people are on a voyage together. While a storm seems possibly brewing in the distance, it is not presently upon them. A lifeboat is vaguely in the background (note: click on it to enlarge).