A Picture of the Gospel ~ A God Story

We had only been in our new home city of Gudalajara, Mexico for 2 weeks and I was itching to get out into the city and explore. My trusty camera by my side, I was ready to capture the sights I was sure God would soon present. It just so happened to be the Saturday before Easter and there were small glimpses of the holy day all around me as I began my exploration of the 500 year old area of central Guadalajara.

Mexico is beyond beautiful. It is so much more than the dusty dirt roads of Clint Eastwood movies that we come to think of when we think of Mexico. The colonial architecture calls the heart to reminisce of old world Spain with narrow cobble stone streets moving the mind into a distant past. The soaring cathedrals reach far into the sky, attempting to do what Babel could not. The streets that day were busy, the seemingly countless squares, plazas, and parks littered with humanity, all seeking to absorb the beauty of the city. As I meandered through the crowded city spaces, no plan in mind except to get lost, I rounded a corner and saw a sight that amazed. There sat an artist on the ground, a small piece of pastel chalk in hand, creating a huge image of Jesus Christ. A crown of thorns sat hard on his brow as He looked up into heaven, clearly a moment before Him on the cross that He would have rather avoided. Yet a moment He would endure that would change the course of humanity’s access to eternity.

I snapped a few photos, intrigued with the care and skill the artist was displaying, clearly absorbed in his work. The sketch was, at this time, only a simple white chalk outline. Yet it still made quite the impression, made obvious by the large crowd that had gathered around him, watching the progress of an artwork being brought to life. The artist had his social media contact information hastily scrawled on a piece of cardboard nearby, I snapped a photo of it with my phone and moved back into the sea of people to continue my photograpgy journey.

Later that night, God called that drawing back to my mind. That image of Jesus once again commanding my attention. So powerful, that image. His eyes…God in the body of a real man, facing crucifixion for sin that he knew not. I grabbed my phone, typed in his Facebook address and what popped up on my screen took my breath away. That simple white outline that I had seen 8 hours ago had indeed been given life. The colors, the shadows, the textures, the contrast, they all leaped from the simple tiled surface the artist drew upon. That lifeless pavement now readily spoke of true life as the image of Jesus Christ, hours from enduring cross, told a timeless story. A story that needs to be proclaimed from the mountain tops of this world to all the people of the world. And it was in this moment that God spoke into me. Surely the thousands of people that had gazed upon this photo that day did not fully know why Jesus went to the Cross. Surely the myriad of hearts that had gazed upon the power of this image didn’t know that Jesus’ march to the cross was for them. The Holy Spirit engaged my mind and my heart, taking over...what if I had been there to tell them that Jesus went to the cross to pay the penalty of their sin? What if the artist were to draw this image again but this time we had loving brothers and sisters in Christ there, all around that image, to tell the onlookers about the greatest sacrificial love the world has ever known?

As impossible as this plan seemed, I reached out to the artist the next day. I had researched a little about him before hand and found that even though he lived in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, he travelled the world, creating his art in national art festivals from Italy to South America. In all honesty, I was not only expecting refusal, but looking for it. I mean why would a world-renowned secular artist in 2022 want to engage in a public evangelism event knowing that the world will not tolerate the open distribution of the gospel of Jesus Christ? Yet in my little faith, I found just the opposite. God opened up a beautiful relationship that would soon culminate into one of the most amazing evangelism events I have ever witnessed.

Margie and I met with the artist, Erwin, at his office. We had created a meeting agenda and had it in hand, ready for whatever door God was ready to open. We talked openly about our plan, to commission him to draw another photo. One that told a story. One that would create questions in hearts, hearts that were seeking a truth that had been to this point, eluding them. And as those questions arose, we would have people with answers nearby. Scriptural answers. We would stage a group of college students here on mission to engage people as they encountered the beauty of his art, the beauty of an image that conjured wonder, amazement, and a need to know more. A need to know more about Jesus. Erwin wholeheartedly loved the plan. We were off to the races.

After 2 months of planning and prayerful selection of the right image, the event happened on a beautiful sunny Saturday in downtown Guadalajara. Erwin uses the same spot for all of his events, one that sees 100,000 people pass by on an average Saturday. Only two blocks from the historic main cathedral and a mere 35 feet from a major subway station, I now know after the event, his numbers are spot on. The idea of this mass of humanity being openly exposed to the gospel of Jesus Christ still seemed so distant, yet was happening in the moment.

Through a series of amazing conversations, God clearly revealed that we should use an image of Jesus at the well talking with the Samaritan woman. A story found in John chapter 4 that so beautifully touches on the idea of an eternal living water that can only be found through the salvation that Christ made available to all from the cross. Erwin started the drawing that morning and as it progressed through the afternoon, a sea of people washed upon its shores. People gazed at the artwork created upon the very surface in which they were treading. And as they washed up upon the shore of that image, the gospel conversations happened. The photo generated a tremendous interest, and as a result, the conversations about the truth of Jesus flowed freely. Conversations that ended in people, many for the first time, hearing about a love that could redeem their very souls.

We shared with hundreds of people that afternoon. One group of onlookers being quickly replaced by another. We had books of John to distribute, able to read them the very story of the photo their eyes were absorbing. The colors of the image leaped off the pavement and into their minds and hearts as they heard the very Words of Jesus Christ uttered from that Samaritan well over 2000 years ago. The face of the Messiah was ever so carefully drawn, seemingly real as they heard of a living water so different than the water this world offers. A living water that will see its recipient never thirst again.

Jesus made public is Jesus believed upon. It’s that simple. We saw eyes opened, we saw lives touched, and we saw souls changed. And all that was needed was to expose the world to a Savior that has been forgotten and overloooked by so many. Today, regardless of where you live or what you do, you have a similar call from Christ. To give out His Word, to make Him known, to tell His story. For there is an entire world of lost souls walking this dark planet, souls that need to hear of a love that can save them from an eternity separated from their maker. But yet in order for that to happen, the story must be told…the photo must be drawn.

Please pray for the hundreds that heard the gospel of Jesus Christ during this event, many for the first time. Pray that those gospel seeds sown fall on fertile ground. Fertile soil that will be watered by living water from a well that will never run dry. Pray that those lives stop looking for the water and go directly to the well.

Blessings ~ Dan