Fresh Cement for Artists
"May God be gracious to us...that your ways may be known on earth..." Ps. 67:2.

One reason I write about mission promises is to return the favor of a kind
Mexican. When my family and I lived in Mexico in 1981, my children were five,
three and two. One day as we walked down a sidewalk, we came to a new
driveway with freshly-smoothed cement. My three preschoolers halted and gazed
longingly at the glistening wet surface. To the workers watching from a
distance, I called, "Don't worry, I won't let the kids touch it."

But before I could shoo them away, a young Mexican laborer—carrying a trowel
full of cement—ran up to us. Crouching down, he slapped the cement on the
hard sidewalk where we stood. Then he handed the trowel to Katy, the oldest,
and chuckled, "Play!" For the next ten minutes, they took turns smoothing
the mortar flat and then piling it up again.

When I first discovered mission promises, I asked myself: Why are messianic
promises so familiar to Christians while mission promises are not? Artists
and musicians are always looking for new material or themes to inspire them.
Over the centuries, Christian artists often have based their creations on
messianic promises. Handel's "Messiah" is a prime example. In contrast, only
rarely do Christian artists base their work on mission promises.

My career goal is to make the concept of mission promises known to all
Christians around the globe. I know my writings alone won't accomplish this.
I need the assistance of countless artists who will convey the hope of
mission promises through their work.

I know from experience how encouraging such artwork can be. During three
years of study and research to write my book "Outreach Promises," I
sometimes wondered if my efforts would bear fruit. Whenever I doubted, I
would rest my eyes and spirit on a painting my sister, Susan Crawford,
prepared for me on the occasion of my completing my doctor of missiology degree.

Susan's painting features the earth and stars as seen from outer space.
Spangled across the navy-blue background are these words: "May God be
gracious to us and bless us and make His face shine upon us, that Your ways
may be known on earth, Your salvation among all nations" (Ps. 67:1-2).

This promise of global blessing for all the nations helped me complete my
writing task. In the same way, God gave us His mission promises to encourage
us to finish the task of evangelizing every people group and each individual
on earth.

So, to all Christian artists—with exuberance like that of my friend, the
Mexican concrete laborer—I offer you a new, fresh, glistening source of
inspiration: God's mission promises!

1. Ps. 67 is an artistic variation on what famous text? (See Num. 6:24-26.)
2. How does Ps. 67's use of Num. 6:24-26 broaden your horizons and hope?
3. Investigate these artists who use mission promises:
   * Composer Scott Wesley Brown (scottwesleybrown.com).
   * Calligrapher Timothy Botts (promisechecks.com/artists/tb/tb1.html).
   * The Sons of Korah, authors of the most international psalms in the Bible
   (Ps. 44-49 & 87).