It’s An Acquired Taste

Modern art

The phrase, “It’s an acquired taste” means that you may start out not liking something, or maybe even hating it, but then learn like it and even love it later. This is true for all kinds of things, but most prominent in my mind is the first time I went to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York.

As I walked through the gallery I felt little confused. I kept thinking, “This is art?” I could see some artistic merit in works by Henri Matisse, Edgar Degas, and even Salvador Dali, but not the scribbles I saw in the paintings by Jackson Pollock.

When I returned home from my trip, I was telling a friend of mine about visiting MoMA. He asked me if I saw the works by Jackson Pollock. “You mean the guy whose paintings look like someone splattered paint on them?” I blurted out. My friend then schooled me on the form and content of Mr. Pollock, “What Jackson Pollock put on the canvas was not a picture but an event. The gestures on the canvas were gestures of liberation reflecting changes in our culture!”

I’ve returned to MoMA several times, and am now able to appreciate the paintings of Jackson Pollock. I could spend hours staring at his paintings. I love them!

Like, even love

When you go through different experiences, especially difficult ones, it’s hard to appreciate their value. It might be something that seems pointless, or something you don’t like or even hate. But then something happens where you start to see how God used that experience.

 “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” (Eph 2:10, NLT)

There is art in your life that you may not recognize, or like. It looks like scribbles and splatters to you, but it’s actually God’s workmanship. God wants to show the beauty and value he’s put there, and cause you to appreciate His work. Your life will become an art gallery of God’s love and faithfulness that you’ll begin like and even love.