The Photo

Jesus and Regions

Sometimes when looking at a photo, one must look a little closer. This photo was taken a while back in downtown Jackson, Mississippi. If you look close enough, one can see a mosaic of Jesus in the bottom left hand corner. The mosaic at the time was being restored along with the rest of the church. What struck me though was the building in the background in the right hand side of the photograph. If you look close enough you will notice…it is Region’s Bank. The dichotomy presented here was too good to pass up as a photo opportunity. Why? Because not more than a ½ mile away from the towering Regions bank, there exist poverty, drug addicts, street prostitutes, and the homeless. Most of the people who work at Regions are probably not filthy rich, just the bank executives. What they do with their money is only known by them, but I cannot help but wonder about the parallels in Jesus life. Not only was He in the middle of those who had nothing, He was in the middle of those who had much. And here He is in Jackson, Mississippi; in the middle of a downtown area where poverty and richness co-exist together. Jesus makes Himself available to both poor and rich in different ways; to one He offers hope beyond this world, and to the other He offers a path to help them realize losing their life for His sake means finding life.

One of the other reasons this photograph works so well, at least to me, is the timing of the sun setting above Jesus. When I look at this photo, this is what my eye seems to pick up on. Only after I notice the light do I notice the mosaic of Jesus and then Regions bank in the background. Then my eye seems to return to the light, and I soon think of the words to the song “Come Awake” by David Crowder. And I sing…

Light will shine!!!

Love will rise!!!

This post dedicated to my brothers and sisters in Jackson who continue to let their light shine and their love rise.