Free Bible study!

Two criminals: one on the right hand and the other on the left

“A Picture’s Worth”

Texting is something I’ve been doing for only a couple of years now, but I’ve already come to see its value. Less intrusive than a phone call and more direct than email, it enables me to connect with people who might be far away.

Recently I was texting with a person whose loved one is facing challenging health problems. After telling me how dire the situation was, this person sent a text that consisted only of one character: an emoticon. The picture of a sad face told me as much (or perhaps more) about the situation than all the words previously texted.

Emoticons are a relatively recent phenomenon. These pictures, originally made from nothing more than letters of the alphabet and punctuation marks, portray emotions. It’s impressive how many emotions can be constructed in this simple way.

“One picture is worth a thousand words” is an old axiom. The painting by Edvard Munch entitled “The Scream” is not a complex painting, but it has sparked volumes of discussion. That one picture has been worth probably a billion words (or more).

One picture, however, surpasses all others when it comes to prompting words. It’s not a picture in the sense of one you can frame, but it is a picture nonetheless.
SERMs may also be beneficial in men who have got a heart condition are not ideal candidates for cialis professional uk either, since it can lead to high blood pressure Ritonavir o Amyl, Butyl or Isopropyl nitrates (“Poppers”) Who shouldn’t use it? Men who have any of disorders like diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular issue should not think of taking PDE-5 inhibitors or erection-boosting medicines without consulting a healthcare provider. Getting and maintaining sufficient erection is cute-n-tiny.com cialis no prescription a combination of mental and physical processes. You have to accept it before anyone cialis tabs 20mg else can. Other tips to consider canadian discount cialis how significant the longer term, the issue that is upsetting you.
Here is how Luke “painted” the picture: “And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left” (Luke 23:33). The crucifixion of Jesus: no photo was taken, and no eyewitness produced a drawing. But how that scene is embedded in our minds!

And has that picture been worth a thousand words? How about tens of trillions of words (or more)?! Not many years after it happened, Paul wrote: “But we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness” (1 Corinthians 1:23). Presenting a crucified Savior was not what the public relations folks of that day would have advised; it was frankly a ghastly image. But Paul conveyed that very image over and over and over again.

Why does this one picture stimulate so much discussion, both positive and negative? Because it contains so many powerful ideas: man’s sinfulness and lost condition, God’s love for man despite his sinfulness, Christ’s selflessness in submitting to this horrific plan, etc. In this one picture is captured the whole drama of human history.

When we understand the picture, we want to reenact it: “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Galatians 2:20). Those sentiments of the apostle Paul become ours when we take time to reflect on the picture.

Timothy D. Hall