Last night during house church, I led a discussion on this passage, central to Christianity in which God makes a covenant with Abraham which applies to his descendants, Jews, and then Christians from every corner and cranny of world. In one section God asks Abraham to cut animals in two (except the birds) and set their halves on either side of, persumably, a rather bloody pathway. And then God himself, alone, walks in between them, indicating that he himself will bear the death penalty if Abraham or his decendants break the covenant, which of course he did and we do. And, true to his word, God in Jesus Christ did take the penalty, which we Christians believe is described here and all over the New Testament.

That is a very long introduction to say that as we together visualized this passage last night, a friend said “That sounds like something you would photograph, Neil.” And, yes, though this blog has been featuring some pretty bright and colorful material recently, her statement is indeed true. So, I thought I would go ahead and affirm that by reposting two versions of one of my favorites of the pictures I have taken.

I could say much more on this topic, but I do not reflect on fallen images in order to revel in darkness and death, but to lament the beauty that has been destroyed, to see the beauty that is often still latent in them, and to envision what sort of restorations of beauty will take place on the New Earth.