Do you like black and white photos? I ask this question often for it opens the door to a discussion which reveals startling spiritual truth. Regardless of the answer, there are many reasons to value black and white photographs. Among them, as Naldz Graphics in her blog comments, are the values of utter simplicity and timelessness along with unique beauty. In addition, the contrast between black and white conveys a dramatic message that draws attention with its unique variations.
I study Bible women like a photographer studies the effects of black and white photos. Like a black and white image, the contrasts between Bible women reveal God’s power to state truth simply for all generations. The contrasts between Bible women grabs me with the sense of powerful messages from the LORD. Recently, while concentrating on the contrast between Eve’s and Mary’s emotions, the stark differences between their reactions to desperate situations caught my attention.
Eve was the first woman, created by a perfect God who brought great beauty to life. It is safe to assume that she was also the most brilliant woman who ever lived. The Bible states that Adam, her husband, declared her to be the mother of all living, but in sharp contrast to her title, she brought death to the human race. Conversely, Mary, the mother of Jesus, a young, inexperienced and exiled, woman, unimportant to her society and insignificant in the Roman empire, nevertheless, became the loving womb of the most powerful and eternal Savior that rocked the world with His gift of salvation.
In their two severely diverse reactions to important life decisions, their emotions swirled in a mist of confusion. Eve reasoned within herself that the fruit was good food, pleasant to the eyes, and would make her wise. The desire to control, the power of making her own decisions independently of the LORD, and her self-centeredness, rose to the surface of her God-given mind. She became completely vulnerable to the trap of the devil when she chose to reject simple obedience and embraced her will. She LISTENED to herself.
Genesis 3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
In exquisite black and white contrast, Mary, the mother of Jesus, although faced with an important decision and in the midst of turbulent emotions, chose to verbalize her choice by SPEAKING a marvelous SCRIPTURAL PRINCIPLE, that of OBEDIENCE. Listen to what she SAYS,
Luke 1:38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.
Stunned, I realized that, instead of listening to myself in the middle of an emotional crisis, I need to SPEAK SCRIPTURAL PRINCIPLES!
When Mary told the messenger of God that she wanted to do what he said, she followed the scriptural principle of James 4:7a which says, Submit yourselves therefore to God. She also echoed her unborn Savior’s submission to the Father when he said,
John 6:38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
This compelling idea of voicing scriptural truth when in the crossroads of life is Mary’s message for us today. It is made clearer by noticing the sharp contrast between her sweet surrender to the Savior and Eve’s self-centeredness.
Now, every time I see a black and white photo, I look for the simple beauty, expressed in the easily noticed differences of the black and white hues. I observe the dramatic impact of its subject, and I know that it will speak the same message for my descendents. And I rejoice in the power of God’s Word to do the same!
