Art Restoration

I now gaze at Michelangelo's The Creation Of Adam on my computer. I follow with my eyes the slope Adam reclines on and study closely God's flowing beard. I stretch my finger touching that space between Adam's and God's fingers--eternally reaching out to each other to close that gap which is the largest chasm in all of human history.

This painting is not in any museum but is among many other pictorial scenes adorning the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome completed in 1481. Two hundred years later, the ceiling would suffer from water leaks. Simone Lagi arduously wiped the ceiling with linen cloths and rubbed it with bread. This was what has come to be known as art restoration or conservation. Now there are more modern and technologically-advanced techniques in art restoration, but it doesn't make the task any less arduous.

We don't see this--and maybe we never will--but we are works of art. We are masterpieces of the Creator, the Great Artist. "We are God's worksmanship," Paul wrote. We are His poetry, His obra maestra, His pièce de résistance in all of Creation. We would need His eyes to see us as we truly are.

My niece posted on Facebook, to my chagrin, a picture of me at six years old, bright-eyed and self-content. I was in a bright yellow shirt sipping a Coke. I looked at that child as if he wasn't me. If I could find that child I would apologize to him. I'd say "I'm sorry this is who you came out to 23 years later. I'm sorry I made you go through bad decisions. I wished I'd have done better." What I really wanted to say is I wish I never allowed sin into my life.

Sin has damaged me. Sin has damaged my relationships. Sin is the death of me. Ten years ago I wouldn't have cared less--a teenager rebelling against my dad, partying till the AM, and allowing others to treat me any way they wanted. "I'm worthless," I told myself, and believed it, too. If I were any piece of art, I'd be the picture of Dorian Gray. Restoring me would need more than the occasional swab of linen cloth and spongy bread.

Restoring me required that the Son of God, my Creator, would suffer and die for my sins. It would require that He shed His blood completely. It would require stripes on His back, thorns on His head, and nails on His hand and feet. And as He went through these 2000 years ago He looked forward to Rico restored, to Rico rejoicing in His presence. In three days He broke through the grave that couldn't hold Him.

When Ondoy hit us my father-in-law came to live with us as the self-appointed nanny to my daughter. There was good in this because he stopped drinking and regained a vigor he lost when he retired. Which meant of course I had to make certain adjustments: not all my decisions as man-of-the-house were carried out if my father-in-law was against it. The stench of cigarette smoke hung around the house like a specter. And we would have his favorite crab day after day after day. I'm vegetarian. I thought these were small sacrifices in exchange for seeing my cynic-to-the-Gospel father-in-law attending Sunday celebration.

But I reached a boiling point. In about a year we were at each other's throats, like steamed crabs with giant claws. With a harsh exchange of words he moved out, along with my petulant sister-in-law who was staying with us, too at that time. My wife was devastated, but I felt I only did the right thing. I was not without any self-justification or self-pity for doing what I did. My father-in-law and I have never spoken to each other since.

These were my choices. I wanted to stick by them. But they weren't necessarily godly choices. God's will is for me to forgive my father-in-law, to reach out to him in humility, and to pursue love above all. I can seek to restore this broken relationship ony after and in much prayer for strength and wisdom, in meeting with him, and humbly listening to his heart. Naturally I am reluctant.

Have you noticed that Adam's hand and gaze in Michelangelo's painting are slack? His arm and forefinger are relaxed. Contrast that with God's outstretched arm and finger and eager gaze, as if He is doing all in His power to come in contact with the man He created and loves. In God there is strong intent and action to fill that gap between Him and man. In Jesus, that gap was closed forever.

Excuse me. I'll need to stop writing now. I'll pray to the God of restoration and healing. Then I'll give my father-in-law a call. I'll reach out to him and close the gap. This is what Jesus did for me with His blood.

Nothing is more important than relationships

The Relationship Principles Of Jesus day one

I frankly feel this is another huge marketing scheme by Saddleback... old message (in fact ancient message since Biblical times), a tried format of 40 days, a marketing ploy of dispersing to churches worldwide to study the book in small groups, complete with video, study guides which will be greatly supplemented if you buy Tom Holladay's book on which this whole thing is based on. All this was done in the Purpose Driven Life Campaign many years ago based on a book written by Rick Warren of Saddleback Church.

Tom Holladay's writing sounds a lot like Rick Warren's. It's a little... churchy. Pastor-talk. I've my own favorite Christian authors and those mentioned above are not in my list. Tom and Rick are associate pastors of Saddleback so it's not as if Tom wrote a book independently and from another part of the country and Rick read it, caught on its promise, and contacted Tom to convince him to turn the book into a PDL take 2 campaign. (PDL has seen decrease in sales in the recent years.)

Having said all my critique, I will never deny how God used Rick Warren and the Purpose Driven Life book and campaign to transform many, many lives. I never finished reading it, though. At least not in the one chapter a day format. Not that it's a terrible bore... the topics are really relevant! But it's the writing I don't like. (If you're curious who my favorite Christian writers are, just nudge me and I'll spill.) But reading through PDL I thought, bleah, I'd rather go straight to the source and read the Bible instead of this rehash.

So here I am in 2011, and tonight I'm supposed to facilitate a small group on ta-dah! The Relationship Principles of Jesus. I read the first chapter today and my thoughts are... You Can't Do That!

No, Tom, you can't! You can't tell me to "place the highest value on relationships" just with that short chapter. I need something more than that. I need... convincing, motivation, drive. I need something that speaks to my humanity. I can't be a robot that does what it's told.

Tom uses Mark 12 as his basis. While I have no questions that to love God and others is the greatest commandments, that wouldn't be enough for me to obey 100%. I am, after all, human. Praise God He knows this!

God doesn't just say "Love me!" God actually gives us reason and power (energy, spirit, drive--you get the picture) to do that. The Bible says we love because He first loved us. First John 4:10 says, "This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins."

And there it is! That's why I can love God and love others. Because God loved me first, even before I was born. Tom might have forgotten to mention this, but Peter Tan-Chi didn't, when he spoke about this topic last Sunday at CCF. Neither did my small group leader forget. Kuya Mon, after going through the video and discussion questions with us immediately went into the Gospel. The Gospel is the good news of God's love for us. Because of the Gospel, I am enabled to place the highest value on relationships.

Let me talk a bit about God's love. God is the most wonderful, magnificent friend a person can ever have... and He wants me—despicable me—more than I can ever want Him. I don't understand it! He wants to have a relationship with me so much He suffered and died just to make it possible. "Yes, by God's grace, Jesus tasted death for everyone" (Hebrews 2:9).

I do know that the father ran to his son (Luke 15:20), not the other way around.

The way I used to do it is base my lovability on how I feel and how I perform. If I do good, I feel good, and I feel loved by God, naturally. But when I foul things up, which I do often being human, when I trip and fall, I feel rotten, unlovable. Then I become convinced God hates me.

But God's love is unconditional. Nothing I can do can make Him love me more. Nothing I have done can make Him love me less. My lovability is not based on who I am or my person. It is based on who God is. God is love. God loves me. That's how it is from the beginning. And I can't change that. It's truth long before I was born.

What's more, Jesus took the fall for my sins. Then, He embraces me and kisses me in His love. Everything was done so I can come.

Consider this. I have sinned against God. I don't deserve to have a relationship with Him. But He made a way. He paid the price. He did it all.

And now I come. I come to Him. I come and I want to say, "I want to love You back. And I want to tell others about your love. And I want to love others like You do."

Listen to the lyrics of this song by Hillsong.

The spiritual and the secular

When I was younger in the faith and in the arts, I was accepted as an apprentice in a Christian theatre arts ministry. I learned a lot of good from them, but learned some bad also in the mix. One such learning was that being Christian, all my work must be exclusively for God's only, which was translated into: secular theatre work is bad. For years I had this thinking and shunned auditioning for theatre other than evangelistic community theatre. In this arts ministry, I learned acting second-hand, because I was rarely recognized for my talent. I was made to play second fiddle to my co-apprentices who were deemed more talented than me.

Each time I did make something worthy (my writing was something none of my other co-apprentices could do so I was recognized for it), I will be praised but immediately admonished that it's for God and I shouldn't feel satisfaction for it. To make sure of that, there would be all sorts of critique for my work--particularly if it were written in the genre of fantasy and did not mention "God" at all. But even in my "Christian genre" writing, that was criticized, too.

I never once thought that this was out of ordinary. I remember a member of that group once auditioned for a local musical of CS Lewis's "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" and that was disapproved. Only now do I remember all these incidents in my work with JC's books.

I wish I can go back in time and help myself as young artist by being the gentle mentor I needed at that time.

In one bold move, I took a hiatus from that group and auditioned for other theatre productions--where I was recognized for my drive, my discipline, and my talent in acting--something that I never received from the former group. These being secular productions, I heard all these accolades with a twinge of guilt. And my former theatre groups interpreted my leaving my company as losing my faith. Still, steadily, I really learned to act from my secular directors and gained a trust in my talent. Sometimes I would show up in my former theatre group, but nothing has changed there. I still was treated as a second-class talent in spite of my outside work.

Well, that Christian theatre group has now dissolved. None of its members turned out to be that committed to theatre work, and in contrast, here I still am, with a hunger and passion for theatre.

Last Sunday at church, the minister said something about the spiritual and the secular. He said anything done for the Lord is spiritual--whether it be our desk jobs. I was like, a ha! All those times I did secular theatre but prayed backstage dedicating that work to God--then it's not secular theatre after all! The minister went on to say that all seemingly spiritual work like ministry, if not done for the Lord, isn't spiritual at all.

That healed me. So I thought I just might share it here.

Happy Valentine's Day!

How He Loves Us, David*Crowder Band

He is jealous for me,
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.

When all of a sudden,
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realize just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.

And oh, how He loves us so,
Oh how He loves us,
How He loves us all

Yeah, He loves us,
Oh! how He loves us.

-=-=-=-=-=-

I share this video because I listen a lot to K-Love.com and that's where I first encountered this song. I need to be reminded of what David Crowder writers here: He loves us.

God loves us! No condition, no exemption.

Customized Affirmations from The Artist's Way at Work

Julia Cameron's groundbreaking book, The Artist's Way, has helped more than a million people access their creativity and realize their dreams. Now, at the urging of their students, authors Mark Bryan, Julia Cameron, and Catherine Allen expand the original Artist's Way tools in an all-new program specifically addressing the world of the workplace.

The Artist's Way at Work blends cutting-edge ideas on creativity and group dynamics with the timeless values of integrity and simplicity to produce a powerful process that will assist you in whatever work you pursue.

The result will be a heightened sense of adventure, excitement, creativity, and satisfaction—not only in your business, but in your whole life as a whole.

- from the back of the book

The Artist's Way at Work suggests that you use some affirmations for your workplace. Here are some:

1. My creativity profits me and others.
2. My creativity is clear and expansive.
3. I trust and use my creative impulses.
4. My creativity is safe and exciting.
5. As I trust my creativity, it becomes stronger.
6. My creativity flourishes.
7. My creativity brings joy to me and my world.
8. There is a divine plan of goodness for me and my work.
9. As I create and listen, I am led.
10. I am willing to create.
11. I am willing to use my creative talents.
12. Through using a few simple tools, my creativity flourishes.
13. I am allowed to nurture my creativity.
14. My creativity leads me to friendship and service.
15. I am a conduit of God to create good things.
16. My creativity is God-given.
17. Using my creativity is a gift back to God.
18. I allow creativity to flow through me.
19. I welcome a flow of creative ideas.
20. I act on my creative impulses with faith and clarity.