The Promised Land / I go to prepare a place for you
Title: "The Promised Land / I go to prepare a place for you" (2021)
Size: 40x40"
Acrylic ink dyed kozo collage and mica powder on canvas
From "O Mirabile Mysterium," my body of work illuminating Genesis 1. This work explores Day Three of Creation, when the dry land was created as a refuge from the chaos waters.
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Then God said, “Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so. God called the dry land earth, and the gathering of the waters He called seas; and God saw that it was good. Then God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit after their kind with seed in them,” and it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit with seed in them, after their kind; and God saw that it was good. There was evening and there was morning, a third day.
-Genesis 1:9-13
As for you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, and the sons of Israel shall go through the midst of the sea on dry land.
—Exodus 14:16
“Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.
—John 14:1-3
The term labyrinth is often used interchangeably with maze, but there is a distinction between them. A maze is a kind of test—you can take wrong turns and hit dead ends. You can end up totally lost. It is up to you to make the right choice, whether by reason or instinct. Though it may be long and winding, this labyrinth only has one path. There is no shorter route to find. There is no test of intellect or instinct. Instead, the test of the labyrinth is trust. Are you willing to walk the path that has been laid out for you?
Note: my labyrinth design is based on the famous labyrinth on the floor of the Chartres Cathedral in Chartres, France, which was laid in the early thirteenth century.
Most Holy Lord, you have been a cultivator of space and place from before the foundation of the world. You formed the flourishing land with a word, but your dry land has never been about dirt alone. The holiest of lands—what is already provided in part and promised in fullness—is you. In your presence, a kind of flourishing awaits that the most fertile land can’t supply. Oh, wonderful mystery! You have given us the means to enter that promised land through your one and only Son.
Jesus, you spoke of place in terms of preparation—a setting aside, a carving out of a particular home made for each particular soul. I often think about walking your path, and the way you warned us that it is narrow. It demands all of me, this walking in your way–I can’t do it mindlessly. And yet, though I must bring my whole self to this journey, I know I can trust the path, because you made it. It’s not a puzzle for me to solve, and I bring no skills to make the walking easier or more efficient. I go at the pace you set, and you are not just a guide–you yourself are the way to eternal life. On the journey I am fed by your body and blood and Word.
Only you can see the panorama of my life, my going out and coming in. Though I can’t see the end, I know I can trust you around the blind corners. The way is winding, and sometimes I think I’m getting close only to find myself going all the way back to where it seems like I started. Is this how your people have always felt? Looking back to the unseen beginning, wondering how to find their own (better) way? Oh Lord Jesus, help me to leave my anxious heart by the wayside, to abandon the map of my making, so that I can walk the path through the valley, through the waters of chaos, toward dry ground and the holy mountain of your presence.
You are the steward of my sojourning. Lord, prepare me for the mystery of taking the final turn toward the center, toward the unknown country that you have set apart from before the foundation of the world. Prepare my eyes to taste and see the fruits of that land, to feed on the leaves that await me in the shadow of your tree of life.
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All artwork is signed on the back. Can be signed on the front at collector's request.
Keep in mind that paintings can look slightly different in person. I paint using a lot of texture, so they are even better when you can see them in person - it is hard to capture here!
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COPYRIGHT
Artwork is protected by copyright. All images displayed are property of Kelly Kruse. The sale of original artwork does not include the sale of copyright, including rights to reproduce or license imagery. All rights reserved.
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SHIPPING & HANDLING
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