Gospel in Art: Knock, and the door will be opened to you

Jesus Stands at the Door and Knocks by Ain Vares 2018 © Ain Vares Art / ainvaresart.com

Source: Christian Art

Gospel of 10th March 2022 - Matthew 7:7-12

Jesus said to his disciples, 'Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. For the one who asks always receives; the one who searches always finds; the one who knocks will always have the door opened to him. Is there a man among you who would hand his son a stone when he asked for bread? Or would hand him a snake when he asked for a fish? If you, then, who are evil, know how to give your children what is good, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

'So always treat others as you would like them to treat you; that is the meaning of the Law and the Prophets.'

Reflection on the Painting

Our Gospel reading today mentions how we should persist in our faith and keep knocking on God's door and we will receive. At the same time Jesus is knocking on our door too… so why not fling open that door and leave it open so there is a free-flowing exchange between us and God?

Our contemporary painting by Estonian artist Ain Vares depicts Christ knocking on our door, ready to let His light in. Look at all the other doors he is knocking on too. Ain Vares sees his life as an artist as a true vocation. On his website he writes: 'Since 1993 I have painted Christian art. It is the best thing for me. I can spend time in the Word of God and at the same time put on canvas or paper what God has revealed to me. The meaning of a Christian life is not to serve Him for personal gain, but to live God's life and to become more like Christ so that we could receive from God what he has prepared for us even before we were born'… For Ain Vares that calling is to be a Christian artist.

In our reading Jesus makes three promises to us if we pray:

Ask, and it will be given to you;
Search, and you will find;
Knock, and the door will be opened to you;

And yes, all these are actual promises. They are not just mere 'things that may happen'. It is never in vain that we pray. God will always answer us. He may not answer us in the way we might expect or might want to, but He will answer.

It is such an encouraging thought, especially during Lent, that our prayers will be answered... so today we can rejoice in Jesus' promise.

LINKS

Today's story - https://christian.art/en/daily-gospel-reading/1108
Christian Art - www.christian.art