Portrait of Contentment
by Wendel James Potter
September 23, 2007
Fly Fisherman by Donny Finley
But godliness with contentment is great gain
1 Timothy 6:6
The painting is a birthday gift from my wife. The New Testament verse is microscopically etched in black on one of the thin branches that reaches out to the whisper of the flowing river.
You need a magnifying glass to read the verse. But first you need to be told the verse is there. It's guaranteed that you won't spot it on the above photo.
I wondered, why does Mr. Finley go to such great pains to hide the very verse that exemplifies the message of the painting itself?
After considerable pondering, I reached a conclusion. That is his message. At least as I see it.
Some people call the bible the Book of Life. Many say that the answers to all of life's questions are contained somewhere in the bible; but you must mine it, explore it, meditate on it; and, if you're like me, have the Holy Spirit whoop you up alongside the head to understand it.
Study the painting and what do you see? A country boy on a lazy summer day idling on the bank of a river after having cast his line out into the water.
He's fishing. Doesn't care whether or not he catches a fish. He's fishing for answers and he's already hauled in the big one.
Donny Finley's fly fisherman has found his god in the ripple of the river's current, in the trill of the songbirds away off in the trees overhead, in the warmth and delicious fragrance of the seasoned air.
Which brings to mind my favorite verse: Be still and know that I am God.(Psalm 46:10) (Have you ever wondered why bible verses are labeled according to military time?)
The country boy fly fisherman doesn't need to whip a bible out of his back pocket and thumb through Psalms to find the verse that's already printed in his heart, where it first existed for him.
For me, the bible is not the Word of God. It is a journal entry of what some have concluded is the Word of God.
The fly fisherman is still, he's at rest enjoying his leisure and the solitude of nature. Whatever or whoever his god is, the country boy knows him.
He's achieved through osmosis a certain quality of godliness and has found contentment. He has gained greatly by spending an afternoon at the river, dozing in his god's sun-speckled cradle that rocks so gently in the warm breeze of his god's sweet breath.
It's my interpretation that the bible verse has always been there, unseen, not read, but a subtle expression of what's already known by the soul.
We can't always find the answers we seek by studying the Good Book, as some would have you believe. If we believe in God or some semblance of a god, then we need to listen, and to first look outward at what we believe our god has created and then draw into our hearts the truths we have discovered.
When we've found our answer, we've found our God. Then the verse that best expresses that answer is subtly written, in God's hand, on a branch that grows from our personal tree of life.
That tree is our self-portrait. We are Fly Fishermen and we have reeled in the spirit of life. Our catch is godliness.
We are content and that is our gain.
Copyright 2007 Wendel James Potter
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