The above painting by Irish artist Adrienne Rafferty is called ‘Blue Tory’.
I love the way she has caught the sun breaking through the darkness over the island. If you know anything about Donegal weather you’ll know there are rarely skies of unbroken blue! More often than not there’s cloud but what makes the rugged ‘Wild Atlantic’ scenery so memorable is the way the light shines through.
The first Christian community was founded on Tory Island by Saint Columbkille in the 6th century. From the time of his famous forerunner Patrick, pagan darkness and cruelty were being pierced by the light of Christ and His redeeming love. This fact and Adrienne’s picture put me in mind of a passage in Isaiah 42 where, through His prophet, God promised a Rescuer:
‘Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit in him…A bruised reed he will not break and a smouldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth…justice on earth. In his law the islands will put their hope.’
700 years before Christ was born Isaiah was inspired to foresee the day when a God given Saviour would bring light and freedom not just to Jerusalem but to lands and peoples far away.
And praise God to this day people from many backgrounds worldwide are still finding hope and liberation by trusting in Jesus as Son of God and Saviour!
Many kinds of darkness still threaten in the short term, but His truth shines through to enlighten the minds and hearts of all who humbly submit to Him.
In Him, our island, and every place and people on earth may find hope!
(You can see more of Adrienne and her family's work by following this link:
https://www.thegreendoorstudio.net/ )
I love the way she has caught the sun breaking through the darkness over the island. If you know anything about Donegal weather you’ll know there are rarely skies of unbroken blue! More often than not there’s cloud but what makes the rugged ‘Wild Atlantic’ scenery so memorable is the way the light shines through.
The first Christian community was founded on Tory Island by Saint Columbkille in the 6th century. From the time of his famous forerunner Patrick, pagan darkness and cruelty were being pierced by the light of Christ and His redeeming love. This fact and Adrienne’s picture put me in mind of a passage in Isaiah 42 where, through His prophet, God promised a Rescuer:
‘Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit in him…A bruised reed he will not break and a smouldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth…justice on earth. In his law the islands will put their hope.’
700 years before Christ was born Isaiah was inspired to foresee the day when a God given Saviour would bring light and freedom not just to Jerusalem but to lands and peoples far away.
And praise God to this day people from many backgrounds worldwide are still finding hope and liberation by trusting in Jesus as Son of God and Saviour!
Many kinds of darkness still threaten in the short term, but His truth shines through to enlighten the minds and hearts of all who humbly submit to Him.
In Him, our island, and every place and people on earth may find hope!
(You can see more of Adrienne and her family's work by following this link:
https://www.thegreendoorstudio.net/ )
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