We have all had times in our life when it seems our joy hinges on something happening or not happening. Our perspective is skewed and it’s hard to shake that unease that happens when life does not go as planned. I love the sheer beauty of this verse because it sets all that aside and gives us a deep overwhelming thankfulness as we ponder:
From His abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another.
-John 1:16
You may have also heard “grace upon grace” in other translations. Just think on this a moment with me. In the amplified version it says:
For out of His fullness (the superabundance of His grace and truth) we have all received grace upon grace (spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing, favor upon favor, and gift heaped upon gift).
I love that visual of the God of creation offering us more than we could rightly hope for, providing all that we need and then more on top of that. It may not be everything we want here and now, but surely we can offer thanks as we focus instead on what he has graciously and generously provided through Jesus.
How I Came Up With the Design
When I saw this image of olives against rough wood I knew it was just right to bring out the beauty of the verse. It only required a slight amount of adjustment in cropping, tone and coloring. The fruitful branch highlights our life in Jesus, and our gracious blessings provided through him. The wooden background appropriately matches with the time period John 1 is describing. And the free flowing script font matches the curves of the olives and allows for variations of sizing to focus attention on words of greater importance.
Other Inspirational Art in my Series
Think about such things – Inspirational ORIGINAL ART #1
Lessons for Life– Inspirational ORIGINAL ART #2
Blessed is the Man– Inspirational ORIGINAL ART #3
Be Strong and Courageous– Inspirational ORIGINAL ART #4
Give and it will be given to you – Inspirational ORIGINAL ART #5
A Hope and a Future – Inspirational ORIGINAL ART #6
Feedback
Do you like posting encouraging quotes and verses in your home? If you have a favorite quote or verse, I’d be happy to try to design it for you. Just post it in the replies below. To see more of my inspirational art, click here.
Thanks for looking @allforthegood
