Spiritual Practices: Visio Divina
Visio Divina, or sacred seeing, is a type of prayer in which we allow our hearts and imaginations to enter into an image or a scene in silence to see what God might have to say to us. You can find out more about Visio Divina here. Spend some time prayerfully reflecting on the images below and listen to what God might say to you through them.
Visio Divina, or sacred seeing, is a type of prayer in which we allow our hearts and imaginations to enter into an image or a scene in silence to see what God might have to say to us. You can find out more about Visio Divina here. Spend some time prayerfully reflecting on the images below and listen to what God might say to you through them.
Ten Commandments
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Cranach, Lucas, 1472-1553. Ten Commandments, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=55127 [retrieved March 2, 2024]. Original source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:10_Gebote_(Lucas_Cranach_d_A).jpg.
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Moses receiving the law, from the Nuremberg Chronicle
Moses receiving the law, from the Nuremberg Chronicle, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=55138 [retrieved March 2, 2024]. Original source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nuremberg_chronicles_f_30v_2.png.
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Moses with the Ten Commandments
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, 1606-1669. Moses with the Ten Commandments, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=55126 [retrieved March 2, 2024]. Original source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rembrandt_-_Moses_with_the_Ten_Commandments_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg.
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Exploring the Text: God's plan for human flourishing
We tend to think of commandments as restrictive or even negative things. We imagine them setting limits on our lives or at worst, controlling them. Yet we very rarely consider the motivation behind the commandments. God's intent is not to limit, restrict, or constrain. The ten commandments were created to show us God's plan for human flourishing. God knows what is best for us and his commandments were designed to set us on that path. Following God's plan leads us into what is best for us. It leads us into being the best we can be, into flourishing.
David Dalton
We tend to think of commandments as restrictive or even negative things. We imagine them setting limits on our lives or at worst, controlling them. Yet we very rarely consider the motivation behind the commandments. God's intent is not to limit, restrict, or constrain. The ten commandments were created to show us God's plan for human flourishing. God knows what is best for us and his commandments were designed to set us on that path. Following God's plan leads us into what is best for us. It leads us into being the best we can be, into flourishing.
David Dalton