July 27, 2023 - Good Morning! It's Thursday, July 27.
On this day, in 1890, my favorite painter made the fateful decision to take his own life. The life of Vincent Van Gogh had been a sad one, a troubled one. But, during his 37 short years he managed to produce over 2000 paintings. How many did he sell during his lifetime? Only one. Only one. In 2017, a painting by Van Gogh sold at auction for 81 million dollars. His most famous work, The Starry Night, is hanging in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. I had the opportunity to see it a few years ago. It will never be sold at auction, but, if it was, art dealers have estimated it might go as high as half a billion dollars.
The phrase "starving artist" is a cliche because it is so often true - talented people who are unable to support themselves through their talent, who live their lives unacknowledged, unsung, and unvalued. Emily Dickinson, today, is considered one of America's great poets. But, in her lifetime, she published only ten poems. Albert Einstein called Galileo "the Father of Science". But Galileo spent the last ten years of his life in prison, because of his unpopular views. And Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, thought of by many as the greatest composer the world has ever seen, died at 35, in dire financial straits, and was buried in an unmarked grave.
Talent is often unappreciated. Good work sometimes goes unnoticed. Life is not always fair. As Christians, we are human beings, and so we experience times where we feel unacknowledged, unsung, and unvalued. The Apostle Paul certainly must have faced feelings like these from time to time. He was followed around by false teachers who tried to damage his reputation. He was hounded by his own people, the Jews, for his missionary work. And he was persecuted, and eventually executed, by the Roman Empire for standing up for Jesus.
Here's what Paul says to us today - "Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward." Colossians 3:23
Meet you back here tomorrow,
Bro. David
dmathis@fbccenter.org
