My high school art teacher was passionate about “modern” art. Nature, he declared, was the raw material of art, but never art itself. Art required creativity, imagination and intelligence, none of which, he asserted, exist in nature. Even then I wondered how that could be true.

On Friday when I stepped outside I saw on the shrubs near or house icicles encasing the branches and hanging from them, no two alike, glistening and flashing rainbow colors in the sunlight. I remembered the words of John Adams , our second president writing from Quincy, Massachusetts: The icicles on every sprig glowed in all the luster of diamonds. Every tree was a chandelier of cut glass. I have see a Queen of France (Marie Antoinette) with eighteen millions of francs in diamonds upon her person and I declare that all the charms of her face and figure added to all the glitter of her jewels did not make an impression on me equal to that presented by every shrub. The whole world was glittering with precious stones. ( John Adams by David McCullough)(my parenthesis).

The queen’s clothing was a true work of human art. Her very appearance was artistically achieved, but Adams was moved even more deeply by the artistry of ice on trees and bushes. If the purpose of art is to reach and touch human spirits , then God ‘s imagination , creativity and intelligence on display qualify as undeniable art.

It is impossible to measure the impression that Adams received, but I know that the impression I received was sheer joy, not unlike the joy that saturates much of the Bible:

Let the mountains sing together for joy. (Psalm 98:8), I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete. (John 15:11), I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. (John 16:22), . . . you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible joy. (1 Peter 1:8).

If joy is so embedded in the character of God, that even a shrub full of icicles catching the sun can convey it to a soul, it is certain that our Father God is the greatest of all artists in the universe. His artistry displays endless creativity, intelligence, and imagination. In icicles on branches we are invited to share His joy, to rejoice with God at His very character and His creation. True art must be God freely sharing His creativity and finding us receptive.

Love in Him,

Prue