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~PAINTING OF THE LAST SUPPER!~
~The story of the painting of The Last Supper is extremely interesting and instructive, and two incidents connected with it afford a most convincing lesson on the effects of right thinking or wrong thinking in the life of a boy or girl, or of a man or woman.~
~Leonardo DaVinci, a noted Italian artist painted the Last Supper and the time engaged for its completion was seven years. The figures representing the twelve Apostles and Christ himself were painted from living persons. The life-model for the painting of the figure of Jesus was chosen first. When it was decided that Da Vinci would paint this great picture, hundreds and hundreds of young men were carefully viewed in an endeavor to find a face and personality exhibiting innocence and beauty, free from the scars and signs of dissipation caused by sin. Finally, after weeks of laborious search, a young man nineteen years of age was selected as a model for the portrayal of Christ.~
~For six months DaVinci worked on the production of this leading character of his famous painting. During the next six years, DaVinci continued his labors on this sublime work of art. One by one fitting persons were chosen to represent each of the eleven Apostles with space being left for the painting of the figure representing Judas Iscariot as the final task of this masterpiece. This was the Apostle, you remember, who betrayed his Lord for thirty pieces of silver. For weeks, DaVinci searched for a man with a hard, callous face, with a countenance marked by scars of avarice, deceit, hypocrisy, and crime face that would delineate a character who would betray his best friend. After many discouraging experiences in searching for the type of person required to represent Judas, word came to DaVinci that a man whose appearance fully met his requirements had been found in a dungeon in Rome, sentenced to die for a life of crime and murder. DaVinci made the trip to Rome at once, and this man was brought out from his imprisonment in the dungeon and led out into the light of the sun. There DaVinci saw before him a dark, swarthy man his long shaggy and unkempt hair sprawled over his face, which betrayed a character of viciousness and complete ruin.~
~At last the famous painter had found the person he wanted to represent the character of Judas in his painting. By special permission from the king, this prisoner was carried to Milan where the picture was being painted. For months he sat before DaVinci at appointed hours each day as the gifted artist diligently continued his task of transmitting, to his painting, this base character representing the traitor and betrayer of our Savior. As he finished his last stroke, he turned to the guards and said, I have finished. You may take the prisoner away.~
~As the guards were leading their prisoner away, he suddenly broke loose from their control and rushed up to DaVinci, crying as he did so, "DaVinci, look at me. Do you not know who I am?" DaVinci, with the trained eyes of a great character student, carefully scrutinized the man upon whose face he had constantly gazed for six months and replied, "No, I have never seen you in my life until you were brought before me out of the dungeon in Rome." Then, lifting his eyes toward heaven, the prisoner said, "Oh God, have I fallen so low?" Then turning his face to the painter he cried, "Leonardo DaVinci, look at me again for I am the same man you painted just seven years ago as the figure of Christ."~
~This is the true story of the painting of The Last Supper. It teaches so strongly the lesson of the effects of right or wrong thinking on the life of an individual. Here was a young man whose character was so pure, unspoiled by the sins of the world, that he represented a countenance of innocence and beauty fit to be used for the painting of a representation of Christ. But within seven years, following the thoughts of sin and a life of crime, he was changed into a perfect picture of the most traitorous character ever known in the history of the world.~
~WHO'LL TAKE THE SON?~
~A wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art. They had everything in their collection, from Picasso to Raphael. They would often sit together and admire the great works of art.~
~When the Viet Nam conflict broke out, the son went to war. He was very courageous and died in battle while rescuing another soldier. The father was notified and grieved deeply for his only son. About a month later, just before Christmas, there was a knock at the door. A young man stood at the door with a large package in his hands. He said,"Sir, you don't know me, but I am the soldier for whom your son gave his life. He saved many lives that day, and he was carrying me to safety when a bullet struck him in the heart and he died instantly. He often talked about you, and your love for art.~
~The young man held out his package. "I know this isn't much. I'm not really a great artist, but I think your son would have wanted you to have this." The father opened the package. It was a portrait of his son, painted by the young man. He stared in awe at the way the soldier had captured the personality of his son in the painting. The father was so drawn to the eyes that his own eyes welled up with tears. He thanked the young man and offered to pay him for the picture. "Oh, no sir, I could never repay what your son did for me. It's a gift." The father hung the portrait over his mantle. Every time visitors came to his home he took them to see the portrait of his son before he showed them any of the other great works he had collected.~
~The man died a few months later. There was to be a great auction of his paintings. Many influential people gathered, excited over seeing the great paintings and having an opportunity to purchase one for their collection. On the platform sat the painting of the son. The auctioneer pounded his gavel. "We will start the bidding with this picture of the son. Who will bid for this picture?"~
~There was silence. Then a voice in the back of the room shouted. "We want to see the famous paintings. Skip this
one." But the auctioneer persisted. "Will someone bid for
this painting? Who will start the bidding? $100, $200?" Another voice shouted angrily. "We didn't come to see this
painting. We came to see the Van Goghs, the Rembrandts. Get on with the real bids!" But still the auctioneer continued. "The son! The son! Who'll take the son?" Finally, a voice came from the very back of the room. It was the longtime gardener of the man and his son. "I'll give $10 for the painting."~
~Being a poor man, it was all he could afford. "We have $10, who will bid $20?" "Give it to him for $10. Let's see the masters." "$10 is the bid, won't someone bid $20?" The crowd was becoming angry. They didn't want the picture of the son. They wanted the more worthy investments for their collections. The auctioneer pounded the gavel. "Going once, twice, SOLD for $10!" A man sitting on the second row shouted. "Now let's get on with the collection!"~
~The auctioneer laid down his gavel. "I'm sorry, the auction is over." "What about the paintings?" "I am sorry. When I was called to conduct this auction, I was told of a secret stipulation in the will. I was not allowed to reveal that stipulation until this time. Only the painting of the son would be auctioned. Whoever bought that painting would inherit the entire estate, including the paintings. The man who took the son gets everything!" God gave His son 2,000 years ago to die on a cruel cross. Much like the auctioneer, His message today is, "The son, the son, who'll take the son?" Because, you see, whoever takes the Son..................... gets everything.~
~Author Unknown~
~DO YOU BELIEVE~
~A THIRD GRADERS EXPLANATION OF GOD~
~Written by Danny Dutton, age 8, from Chula Vista, California, for his third grade homework assignment to "Explain God." One of God's main jobs is making people. He makes them to replace the ones that die so there will be enough people to take care of things on earth.~
~He doesn't make grown-ups, just babies. I think because they are smaller and easier to make. That way, He doesn't have to take up His valuable time teaching them to talk and walk. He can just leave that to mothers and fathers.~
~God's second most important job is listening to prayers. An awful lot of this goes on, since some people, like preachers and things, pray at times besides bedtime. God doesn't have time to listen to the radio or TV because of this.~
~Because He hears everything there must be a terrible lot of noise in His ears, unless He has thought of a way to turn it off. God sees everything and hears everything and is everywhere which keeps Him pretty busy. So you shouldn't go wasting His time by going over your mom and dad's head asking for something they said you couldn't have.~
~Atheists are people who don't believe in God. I don't think there are any in Chula Vista. At least there aren't any who come to our church. Jesus is God's Son. He used to do all the hard work like walking on water and performing miracles and trying to teach the people who didn't want to learn about God.~
~They finally got tired of Him preaching to them and they crucified Him. But He was good and kind like His Father and He told His Father that they didn't know what they were doing and to forgive them and God said OK. His Dad (God) appreciated everything that He had done and all His hard work on earth so He told Him He didn't have to go out on the road anymore, He could stay in heaven. So He did.~
~And now He helps His Dad out by listening to prayers and seeing things which are important for God to take care of and which ones He can take care of Himself without having to bother God. Like a secretary only more important. You can pray anytime you want and they are sure to hear you because they got it worked out so one of them is on duty all the times.~
~You should always go to Church on Sunday because it makes God happy, and if there's anybody you want to make happy, it's God. Don't skip church to do something you think will be more fun like going to the beach. This is wrong! And, besides, the sun doesn't come out at the beach until noon anyway.~
~If you don't believe in God, besides being an atheist, you will be very lonely, because your parents can't go everywhere with you, like to camp, but God can.~
~It is good to know He's around you when you're scared in the dark or when you can't swim very good and you get thrown into real deep water by big kids.~
~But you shouldn't just always think of what God can do for you. I figure God put me here and He can take me back anytime He pleases. And that's why I believe in God."~
~Author Unknown~
~WHAT IF THERE WERE NO BLACK PEOPLE?~
~This is a story of a little boy named Theo, who woke up one morning and asked God, "What if there were no Black people in the world?" Well God thought about that for a moment and then said, "Son, follow me around today and let's just see what it would be like if there were no Black people in the world. Get dressed and we will get started."~
~Theo ran to his room to put on his clothes and shoes. But there were no shoes, and his clothes were all wrinkled. He looked for the iron, but when he reached for the ironing board, it was no longer there. You see Sarah Boone, a Black woman, invented the ironing board and Jan E. Matzelinger, a Black man, invented the shoe lasting machine.~
~"Oh well, God said, go and do your hair." Theo ran in his room to comb his hair, but the comb was not there. You see, Walter Sammons, a Black man, invented the comb. Theo decided to just brush his hair, but the brush was gone. You see, Lydia O. Newman, a Black female invented the brush. Well, he was a sight, no shoes, wrinkled clothes, hair a mess without the hair care inventions of Madam C.J. Walker, well, you get the picture.~
~God told Theo, "Let's do the chores around the house and then take a trip to the grocery store." Theo's job was to sweep the floor. He swept and swept and swept. When he reached for the dustpan, it was not there. You see, Lloyd P. Ray, a Black man, invented the dustpan. So he swept his pile of dirt over in the corner and left it there. He then decided to mop the floor, but the mop was gone. You see, Thomas W. Stewart, a Black man, invented the mop. Theo thought to himself, "I'm not having any luck."~
~"Well son," God said. "We should wash the clothes and prepare a list for the grocery store." When he was finished, Theo went to place the clothes in the dryer, but it was not there. You see, George
T. Samon, a Black man, invented the clothes dryer. Theo got a pencil and some paper to prepare the list for the market, but noticed that the pencil lead was broken, well he was out of luck because John Love, a black man, invented the pencil sharpener. He reached for a pen, but it was not there because William Purvis, a Black man, invented the fountain pen. As a matter of fact, Lee Burridge invented the type writing machine, and W.A.Lavette, the printing press. So they decided to head out to the market.~
~Well, when Theo opened the door, he noticed the grass was as high as he was tall. You see the lawn mower was invented by John Burr, a Black man. They made their way over to the car and found that it just wouldn't go, You see, Robert Spikes, a Black man, invented the automatic gear shift and Joseph Gammel invented the supercharge system for internal combustion engines. They noticed that the few cars that were moving were running into each other and having wrecks because there were no traffic signals. You see, Garrett A. Morgan, a Black man invented the traffic light.~
~Well, it was getting late, so they walked to the market, got their groceries and returned home. Just when they were about to put away the milk, eggs and butter, they noticed the refrigerator was gone. You see, John Standard, a Black man, invented the refrigerator. So they put the food on the counter.~
~By this time, they noticed it was getting mighty cold. Theo went to turn up the heat and what do you know, Alive Parker, a Black female, invented the heating furnace. Even in the summer time they would have been out of luck because Frederick Jones, a Black man, invented the air conditioner. It was almost time for Theo's father to arrive home.~
~He usually took the bus, but there was no bus because it precursor was the electric trolley, invented by another Black man, Elbert T. Robinson. He usually took the elevator from his office on the 20th floor, but there was no elevator because Alexander Miles, a Black man, invented the elevator.~
~He usually dropped off the office mail at a nearby mailbox, but it was no longer there because Phillip Downing, a Black man, invented the letter drop mailbox and William Barry invented the postmarking and canceling machine. Theo sat at the kitchen table with his head in his hands. When his father arrived he asked, " Why are you sitting in the dark?" Why?? Because Lewis Howard Latimer, a Black man, invented the filament within the light bulb.~
~Theo quickly learned what it would be like if there were no Black people In the world. Not to mention if he were ever sick and needed blood. Charles Drew, a Black scientist, found a way to preserve and store blood which led to his starting the world's first blood bank. And what if a family Member had to have surgery. This would not have been possible without Dr. Daniel Hale Williams, a Black doctor, who performed the first open heart surgery. So if you ever wonder, like Theo, where we would be without Blacks? Well, it's pretty plain to see, we could very well still be in the dark!!!~
~Author Unknown~
~IF YOU GAINED ANY INSIGHT FROM THIS, PLEASE PASS IT ON SO THAT OTHERS MAY KNOW.~
~NEARER MY GOD TO THEE~
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