There was a particular work of art from a 17th century painter named Thomas Cole I stumbled across today. Cole painted a series of pieces he entitled "The Courses of the Empire". This series basically chronicles the rising and falling of civilization. The first piece showcases a beautiful mountain range in the background surrounded by clouds. In the foreground you see lively trees alongside cliffs and streams. If look closely, you'll even see a deer prancing across a stream. My description doesn't do it justice, so here is the picture:
At the end of this series of paintings, you see something very different.
In this final piece there are ruins of a civilization, an Empire, constructed by the hands of humankind. Rubble is the only word that comes to my mind. The title of this final piece is "Desolation". It's a morbid, almost pessimistic note to end on. But there's something in this final piece that I find both sobering and hopeful.
You might say it's a reality check to look at the ruins of a once thriving Empire laid to waste. This piece screams out the truth that the material things we build, the Empires we construct, and, truth be told, the things we hold dear to on this earth, will eventually become desolate. Not a thought we enjoy entertaining, but a truth nonetheless.
But in a strange sense, it is hopeful. While much of what man had constructed was destroyed, elements of the original creation God designed is still very much intact. Compare and contrast both of these pictures, and see for yourself.
Ultimately, what I find hopeful is this:
No matter how bad, or how bleak the world around us gets, we can rest confident that this is God's world and He is interested in it, loves it, and ultimately wants to see it restored to the original masterpiece He intended it to be.
