What am I supposed to be learning again?

I've heard them say that you haven't seen Florence unless you've seen Michelangelo's "David". On HUF, you take a group tour of the Academia to see the David statue, among countless other beautiful works of art, but of course, thee only crowded part of the museum is where David is at. When we finally got the chance to go up to the 17-ft-tall statue, our tour guide made us walk all teh way around it several times, and we had to take notes for our humanities class over the uniqueness of Michelangelo's scupture versus the Davids of other sculptors. Once we had a chance to get over the awkwardness and take some good notes, our guide, Cindy, presented us with an interesting question: In teh sculpture, has or hasn't David already fought Goliath? Apparently, it's a pretty big debate in the world of art.

David's sling is empty in his hand, stretched out across his back. His face is tense, obviously showing worry, and even fear. His body's posture differs greatly from his face, however. He seems very relaxed, neither worried nor stressed. He seems confident. Victorious.

While we are all left for ourselve to decide what point in David's battle against Goliath Michelangelo has portrayed David to be in, Cindy brought up the point that David might have already killed the giant, and is not left with the task of cutting off his head. His sling is empty because it has just been slung. His body is relaxed because he has just become the victor over not only Goliath, but all the Philistines. The worst is over. Maybe the emotion on his face is not fear or stress. Maybe it's disgust at what he has to do now. He's just a little grossed out.

It's a possibility. Creative. That's what art is about, right?

Some of my friends leaned toward the idea that David has not only killed Goliath, he's done with the battle. They talked about how the empty sling and relaxed posture were obviously the most important part of David. The way he's standing became very popular for scultures in the Renaissance, it;s true. The whole idea pf trying to capture the reality of man and all of that. Maybe the worry on David's face is because he is not left with the task of ruling over God's people. He's already been anointed, and he knows the difficulty that he will face in the future.

This is a good point too.

Art is supposed to be very personal. It doesn't only matter what David meant to Michelangelo or to Florentines or to Florence's enemies; it matters what the David means to me. Michelangelo can no longer tell me exactly what the David was supposed to symbolize or whether or not he had killed the giant yet or not. So I am left to make the decision. And I have.

I don't think David has defeated Goliath yet. There is no stone in his sling; he's hardly gotten a start on his planning. But he is prepared to use what he has to do what needs to be done. He has to fight for his people and remind the world that Yahweh is God. Yes, his face is stressed and worried. You would be scared too. Contrary to the appearance of Michelangelo's scupture, this man after God;s own heart was indeed a man, not a god. He had plenty of reasons to be afraid. He was taking the biggest risk ever, preparing to make a sacrifice. I doubt it would be possible to be cocky enough to not be frightened by the idea of going one-on-one against a giant like Goliath. And I don't think David was cocky, nor do I think Michelangelo has portrayed him this way. I think he is confident. His God will save him. He knows it. he knows what's been preomised and he knows the Power that he's fighting for. He knew in his head and his heart that the God he was fighting for was bigger than any giant, or any army, and when he came to terms with that fact, of course he relaxed. His God would always be big enough to defeat his enemies for him. Even his fear. Even his worry. Even his stress.

I'm picking up my sling. There are alot of things I'm worried about. I have alot to stress out about at this very moment. I feel like everyhting is so uncertain. But it's really not. It's going to be ok, because my God is big enough to knock all of my worry and fear right out, and taake my trembling hand and lead me through all the rest.

"I am still confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the LORD."
Psalm 27:13-14