the roots

Vincent Van Gogh is my favorite artist. He writes such detailed descriptions of each piece of his works. The one above is called The Roots and was painted sometime around 1860. Last night I was thinking a lot about life and direction and the way I spend my time. I have wrestled with God consistently, and I was contemplating the importance of this. When I saw this photo of Van Gogh's painting and read what he had written about it, I had to share it.

"The Roots' shows some tree roots on sandy ground...I tried to put sentiment into the landscape: the convulsive, passionate clinging to the earth, and yet being half torn up by the storm. I wanted to express something of the struggle for life...in the black, gnarled and knotty roots."
-Vincent Van Gogh, The Complete Letters, 195, I, 360

Don Postema writes, "If we believe in God, if we really belong to God, we may find ourselves struggling with God. If we listen attentively to our hearts, to the cries of our friends and our angry world, we may find ourselves in conflict with God. We believe in a God who is mercy and justice, yet we see so much injustice. We believe in a God who is wholeness and salvation, yet we see so much brokenness and suffering. We believe in a God of love, yet we see so much hatred. These conflicts raise questions. And to ask these questions not as academic riddles but as a life demand is to wrestle with God."