Kannenberg column: New perspective on Jesus

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, December 1, 2009

I enjoy art, and the creativity that drives it. Each new concept or creation brings renewed hope and possibility to life.
Art is beauty, imagination and initiative mixed together. Art explores the possibilities of life and then dares to dream. Art says yes when monotony says no. Art is courageous. It dares us to step out of the box. It is not afraid of failure.
Art is the ability to take a palette or medium and pour creativity into it, resulting in a new dimensional perspective.
Early art, however, was limited in this regard in that early artists were not aware of techniques that added the third dimension. Early art was flat and two-dimensional. It reflected height and width but no depth.
It was not until artists started adding the third dimension that the fullness of life could be reflected on the canvas.
As with two-dimensional art, two-dimensional living is flat, shallow and superficial. As a result, there is no room for anyone or anything outside of one’s own life or self interests.
The third dimension brings depth to our two- dimensional lives.
You may ask, “What is this third dimension?”
It is the ability to look at life from a new perspective, outside of our flat two-dimensional box. It is life without limits. It creates volume, space, and room for God and others.
This third dimension, or 3-D as we like to call it, is life in its eternal form. 3-D also stands for “third day.” The day Jesus rose from the dead, introducing the perspective of eternity to our flat, two-dimensional minds.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the element that brings us a new perspective on life. It enhances every aspect of who we are. It gives life depth and meaning รณ a new capacity. It is life without limits, beauty without boundaries. The third day is to life what depth perception was to art. Without it, we would be limited by the canvases of our lives, never reaching beyond our flat perspective.
On the third day, Jesus Christ stepped off the canvas of mortality and walked boldly into the depths of eternity.
He painted the most glorious picture known to man, and now stands on the horizon and beckons to whosoever will, “come and follow me. Enter into the fullness of life.”
I love it when God paints a picture!
nnn
Pastor Keith Kannenberg is senior pastor of Blackwelder Park Baptist Church. He will be bringing a 6-part message series entitled 3-D a New Perspective beginning on Sunday at Blackwelder Park Baptist Church, 2299 N. Main St., Kannapolis.