Let's talk about pigment and dig a little deep to gain understanding on life. :)
What is pigment?
According to Webster's Dictionary - pigment is
1: a substance that imparts black or white or a color to other materials especially : a powdered substance that is mixed with a liquid in which it is relatively insoluble and used especially to impart color to coating materials (such as paints) or to inks, plastics, and rubber
2: a coloring matter in animals and plants especially in a cell or tissue also : any of various related colorless substances
As I was reading the book of Romans this week, I started thinking about how tainted the Word, The Father, and faith in general have become... not because The Father had anything to do with it. But because there is a real enemy who wants to distort the Word and our view of Truth.
Truth isn't subjective. Truth isn't perspective. Truth isn't comfortable. Truth doesn't vary and it is not bi-polar or unreliable. Truth isn't what we are naturally inclined to know, believe, or live out... why? Because we live in a fallen world where Satan reigns (the prince of this world) and he is in enmity with The Father. Satan is the father of lies - he is everything that The Father is not and he wants to be god. We are sinners in need of saving and living for The Father is not easy....but a choice we must make daily.
What does this have to do with pigment you might ask? Well, as I was reading Romans, Paul is trying to get the people to understand that their old way of life, their religion and belief system, old methodologies, old rituals, old systems and basically their way of doing things is not Truth and doesn't represent The Father, Yahweh. Their religious ways are contrary to Yahweh.
Basically the Bible tells us that we cannot add or take away from His Word. You cannot add to the Bible. You cannot make Yahweh something that He is not. You cannot make Christianity your own.
I had DIY Paint on the table (because when don't I) as I was reading and that got me thinking about pigment! pigment is the basis of color. Pigment allows something to take on a whole new appearance. In our paint world, we take paint and transform a piece of furniture. Pigment is the key factor - it defines what we see. Whatever the pigment is for the paint that you are using will determine what the furniture will look like.
So DIY Paint is all natural. It's my one of my favorite things about it. As I was reading my Bible, I started thinking about these ingredients and relating it to what Romans is saying to us.
ONLY 9 INGREDIENTS + LOVE
INGREDIENTS: Love, water, clay, porcelain clay, chalk, alcohol, ester (as a binder), cellulose, pigments, preservative.
Stay with me.... We have a loving Father, who IS LOVE, (not the love that we know but True Love that is defined by Him in 1 Corinthians 13) who has given us everything that we need to live this life for Him. Once you acknowledge Him as your Lord and Savior in your mind and in your heart (doesn't have to be in church or at any altar call, or some words your repeated after someone - but true repentance and acknowledgment that you are a sinner in need of a personal Savior - because it is a personal relationship), then you are gifted with the Holy Spirit to guide you into all Truth - because the Truth is contrary to our mortal self.The Son, Yahusha, is the Living Water so that you should never thirst again, because we are thirsty people....and His Water is satisfying and refreshing.
We are the clay. He is the potter. He molds us and shapes us. When we allow that to happen the clay becomes refined by fire and a strong vessel to be used for His Good works...not our agenda, but His will.
OK, let's get back to the pigment and to the ingredients... we have the ingredients to do everything that we were designed to do from The Creator as individuals. He has gifted us with every spiritual (1 Cor 1:7) and natural gift that we could ever need to accomplish what He designed us to do and He gives us the tools to do it as well as the boundaries in which to do it. In the Word we find our source, our inspiration, our food, and our strength. The Son of God IS THE WORD. We know Him through the Word. We must read it daily to remain connected to Him and to be able to follow after Him.
Anything that is added to or taken away from His Word is not THE Word; it is NOT Truth. That is what Paul was saying.
So you have pigment and the ingredients to make a color.... the moment that you water it down, or add another color or product or color, you change the texture, the consistency, the purpose and the meaning of the original color. Now in the paint world this is a fascinating thing and we encourage that... but not in the Spiritual sense.
The moment that you are start adding to the Bible or taking away what you are uncomfortable doing, is the moment that you are no longer serving Him, but you are serving a false god. People often say that every religion is serving the same maker/creator/god. But that is simply not Truth. The God of the Bible, Yahweh, is the same yesterday, today and forever and His ways do not change. He desires to be worshipped a certain way, He calls us out of darkness (lies, deception, and idolatry) INTO HIS WONDERFUL LIGHT - because He is light just as He is love. He is very specific that His Sons follow Him and Him alone and the moment we bring another thing/idol/person before Him, we are committing adultery on Him (idolatry).
So, let's get back to the main thing... let's get back to our first love. Let's stay pure and undefiled. Let's go back to the source to define who we are and are to be. Let's not get it twisted and add to or take away. It's not about you or me, it's about Him and Him alone.