Deuteronomy 29:29 (Downloadable)
This verse is done in the Fraktur style in somewhat of an outline form. The first part of the verse speaks of the fact that there are things that we don't know but God does. They are His secrets (which is lettered so it is hard to see). The second part of the verse addresses what we do know. Our responsibility with these things is to respond to them in obedience. They are "revealed . . . that we may do". It is so easy to focus on what we don't understand.
Story Behind the Art
I first became familiar with this verse when my pastor in Ohio shared this at a funeral. My friend's wife had died of cancer. This verse helped me to get the right perspective about this tragic situation. We are not told why God allowed this to happen, but we are told so many things and those are where we should put out focus. Recently, I got a custom request from the Messer family to letter this verse. They graciously shared their story with me. "On February 18th our son, Jason, went hiking at Hanging Rock State park about 20 minutes away. He was with 3 friends from church and was only going to be gone for the afternoon. We were expecting him for dinner but he never showed up. About 8:30 we received a call that he was being airlifted to the hospital after a fall from about 40 feet. Making a long story short, Jason remained in critical condition for 4 weeks and eventually passed away on March 17th , 2017. It was an intense , heart-wrenching time for our family, but through the long difficult time the only comfort was from God's Word. Much Scripture was read at Jason's bedside by us and our youth pastor as we prayed that he would make a recovery. Psalm 103 was read most often and was repeated at his memorial service. You can read more about Jason on the Facebook page: Pray for Jason Messer As the community and family gathered around to support us there were some that questioned why God would allow this to happen to Jason and why terrible things happen in general. Of course we live in a fallen world but in a time of reflection and counsel our senior pastor reminded of the verse Deuteronomy 29:29. That was such a comfort to many and it was a reminder that we will not know the purpose of Jason's accident on this side of heaven. That is the purpose for Deuteronomy 29:29. The prints are going to given as gifts to special people who spent hours with us at the hospital ministering to us in our time of trial. Our hope in Jason's accident is that people would know the Gospel message." The more I found out about Jason and his family, the more my heart was touched. He loved the Lord and had a profound impact on those that knew him. His favorite verse was Romans 1:16, so I lettered that verse and sent it as a gift to the Messer family. May each of us realize the urgency to tell people about Christ while we still have the chance.
Translation
KJV
Text
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
Romans 1:16