Blessed are the pure at heart 2006 Oil on Linen 750 x 1050mm $4500
Life is messy. The pure at heart often find themselves inside those messes bringing peace and order for others. The painting was originally called “Who will stand in the gap” but I feel it has primarily a metaphor of the heart. So it finds its rightful place in the beatitude series.
This old man Banksia stands on the edge of a thousand foot drop. Having survived between two rocks, its early life must have been perilous. Now big and strong it fills the gap and stands sentinel to the danger. Its trunk holds back the loose sandy soil and its roots are strong and deep: holding it fast against the elements.
Who will stand in the gap is a biblical cry for prayer. Ezekiel 22:30. Who will stand between humans and danger? Who will stand between humans and God’s judgment? This is the function of a prayer warrior. This visual metaphor is both strong and personal. Often prayer warriors have themselves known many dangers and the challenges of life and death before they develop the urgent call to praying in the Gap.
Strong: This Banksia has almost lost its life with the main trunk now just a shell of bark. Its heart wood exposed, as the new growth bursts open the old bark, when the surviving branch took on the feeding role of the whole tree. Heart like and weeping the soul of the tree is revealed.
Personal: There is one beautiful person I know whose journey is an exact reflection of this tree’s experience.