What a Picture

Photography

Anyone old enough to remember the song “Hold it – flash, bang, wallop, what a picture”?? It was from a very British musical, “Half a sixpence”. It came out in the Sixties and this song was one of the ‘show-stoppers’. It’s funny, but people in general will believe more from a photograph than from anything else. It must be that old Chinese saying that a picture is worth a thousand words. The media in general, and the press in particular, has made more money from photographs than from any other medium. And sometimes the caption written under the picture has caused more furore than the photo itself.

The Bible has no photos to back it up. It has no neat captioned pictures showing the great events. Can you imagine the value of a photo of Moses standing over the divided Red Sea? Or the scene of the battle of Jericho? What about Methuselah’s 900^th birthday party, or David killing the bear, or even Moses again, posing with the 10 commandments – Charlton Heston and Burt Lancaster would never have had a career would they? How about a few snapshots of Jesus life and ministry? The angels at Bethlehem? The wedding at Cana, the paralytic lowered through the roof, or blind Bartemaeus shortly after being healed?

We don’t have any of these to help us. All we have are the words in the Bible and the Holy Spirit speaking to our spirit. Maybe the film, “The Passion of Christ” helped a few people – it was certainly graphic and detailed enough. Yet Holy Spirit doesn’t need any props to help Him. He still works in the same way He has always worked. He confronts, convicts, converts, and comforts. He leads and teaches. He carries and protects us.

Where would your average evangelist be without Holy Spirit using his words to convict the sinners? Where would our prayers for healing be without faith and a touch from Holy Spirit?

We don’t need photographs of the tumultuous events to confirm anything the Bible says to us. We don’t need photographs to confirm any of Jesus’ ministries. We don’t need photographs to confirm the Acts of the Apostles – or any other story since then. We just need  Holy Spirit, gently confronting and convicting us, bringing us to the throne of grace where mercy awaits the repentant sinner. Old-fashioned language, I know, but true nevertheless.

If the Lord is going to send revival among us, then perhaps we’d better get used to some old-time religion, some preaching on heaven and hell, some cries for mercy from convicted men and women, and the sight of little children leading those hardened men and women to the God of love and forgiveness.

Send revival Lord. Send press photographers to record it for an unbelieving public. Send young and vibrant evangelists to court and win a younger generation who know little or nothing of their creator God. Send your Holy Spirit in power to an unheeding generation.

Amen, Lord – Let it be so.