The Mona Lisa, a masterpiece painted by Leonardo da Vinci between 1503 and 1506, has been on display in the Louvre in Paris, France since 1797. I have seen it.
The painting was stolen August 21, 1911 and was not returned to the Louvre until 1913. In 1956, someone threw acid on it and damaged the painting and later that year another person threw a rock at it and damaged it further. It was restored and finally protected by the use of bulletproof glass.
Among the duties of the Louvre security guards (who account for over half of the 2,000 member staff) is the protection of priceless works of art such as the Mona Lisa.
God is the Master Creator. In God’s act of creation, everything He made was good. After He created man, God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good (Genesis 1:31). Made in His own image, man is God’s masterpiece. There is no equal to that work because of the identification with the Master.
With the entry of sin into His creation, perfection was disrupted for a time. God was grieved, but not surprised. He had already signed this masterpiece with the blood of His Son.
- Just as the Mona Lisa was stolen and removed from her spot in the Louvre for a time, Satan wants to steal our joy and remove us from the preferred place God has for us. Satan knows he cannot steal our salvation, but he can temporarily steal our joy.
- Just as people continue to try to damage the beauty of the Mona Lisa, Satan wants to damage our credibility and our fruitfulness. He uses any means at his disposal to make us less than what God intended us to be.
- Just as the Louvre resorted to placing bulletproof glass in front of their most popular masterpiece, God reminds us that nothing can separate us from His love. His love is bullet (Satan) proof.
- Just as the Louvre deemed it necessary to post security guards around their most priced possessions, God’s guardian angels stand guard to protect us.
His holiness demanded a curse upon sin, but His perfect plan of restoration was already in place. Every day since is a step closer to that perfect restoration of creation.
Although restoration is a completed fact in God’s eyes, it remains a reality in hope to us. Hope in God does not disappoint. Satan, however, attempts to get us to live by sight and not by faith.
The monetary value of the Mona Lisa has been debated. Instead of insuring the painting for the $100,000,000 it was assessed at in 1962, more money was instead spent on security. We have been bought with a price – the precious blood of Jesus. God not only made us. He sought us out from the grip of Satan and bought us.
For I am persuaded that neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:38-39).
One Focus Ministries 