In the Beginning

In the Beginning by Makoto Fujimura

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:1-5)

I can’t think of a work of art that more beautifully suggests the pre-creation void or Christ as the physical manifestation of God through which creation was made. When I look at this painting I feel like I am looking into a great depth swirling with the raw matter of the universe waiting to be solidified by the Word. A rich black field promises unlimited possibilities. Greens and blues drip and puddle across the canvas, as if earth, water, and sky have not yet coalesced into the beautiful blue marble we call home. Gold, a color long associated with divinity and the heavenly realm, glitters as it has been scattered and embedded across every inch of the surface. Most striking of all, perhaps, the spatter of fiery red suggests a promise made before the foundation of the world. A promise of the Lamb that would be slain, his blood spent for our salvation. (Revelations 13:8)