Room for Desert: Part II
“Love Jesus and keep it simple.”
Located in the middle of the desert at the entrance of the snowbird town of Slab City, Salvation Mountain is a wonder on its own, in every sense of the phrase. This place lies in the outskirts of the California Badlands, a beacon of vibrant color in an expanse of monochromatic terrain. People travel long distances to see the hand-painted landscape-masterpiece of beloved artist Leonard Knight.
Thales and I visited this place right after trekking through the eerie, crunchy shores of the Salton Sea. You can read a little more about that here. This was our first time being this far out in the middle of unincorporated Southern California, and after calculating how much gas our car had left and eyeing our depleting water supply, we went ahead and took a chance on this place.
Yep, still so freaking hot and dry as ever--Satan's nostrils, if you will. But I have to say, this place is a spiritual oasis. Slab City is renowned to be a vigilante-run no man's land, and here's Salvation Mountain, a vibrant reminder that God is love. You can't miss it. It's hard to misinterpret a message that is clearly written in bright paint in the middle of the desert with a cross as its crown. Leonard Knight put the Gospel literally on display, writing out John 3:16 and other Bible verses that point to salvation. And to make it easier for us to really delve into the artist's intention and hope behind his well-kept piece, he wrote out a simple prayer of repentance to make anyone's visit to Salvation Mountain echo into eternity.
As a graphic designer, I look at an amazing artist like Leonard Knight and I want to create like that man. I want to make things unapologetically and fearlessly in the midst of a bleak wasteland. My message needs to be clear and my colors more brilliant. As a writer, I see this mountain and automatically wish that I kept things simple. There is a time and place for beautiful, embellished language, but the truth and stories we have to share are better received when they're more palatably simple. I can be so poetic to the point of being cryptic, but nobody has time to call up Nic Cage to crack another National Treasure. Catch my drift?
Keep it simple, colorful, and fun. There's a time and place for everything, but its high time that we start communicating the Gospel simply. The Gospel alone already bears the radiant glory, earth-shattering majesty, and overwhelming beauty of God made known to us through His Word. It brings life to what is dead. It does far more than just blanket a wasteland with color---it plants an unshakeable Kingdom, a city of refuge for the destitute. It doesn't need my help, but it offers me an eternal citizenship.
I'll gladly take it.
“This is a love story that is staggering to everybody in the whole world—that God really loves us a lot. ”