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Thursday

Dorian Gray

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In the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde describes an
exceptionally handsome young man so captivating that he drew the
awe-stricken adulation of a great artist. The artist asked him to be the
subject of a portrait for he had never seen a face so attractive and so
pure. When the painting was completed, young Dorian became so
enraptured by his own looks that he wistfully intoned that it would
be wonderful if he could live any way he pleased and that any dis-
figurement of a lawless lifestyle would mar only the picture but leave
his own countenance unblemished. In Faustian style he was willing
to trade his soul for that wish.

One day, alone and pensive, Dorian went up to the attic and uncovered
the portrait that he had kept hidden, only to be shocked by what he saw.
Horror, hideousness and blood marred the portrait.

The charade came to an end when the artist himself saw the picture.
It told the story. He pled with Dorian to come clean, saying, "Does it not
say somewhere,'Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as
snow'?" But in a fit of rage to silence that voice, Dorian grabbed a knife
and killed the artist.

Only one thing was left for him to do-he took the knife to remove the only
visible reminder of his wicked life. The moment he thrust the blade into
the canvas, the portrait returned to its pristine beauty, while Dorian lay
stabbed to death on the floor. The ravages that had marred the picture now
so disfigured him that even his servants could no longer recognize him.

What a brilliant illustration of how a soul, though invisible, can
nonetheless be tarnished. I wonder, if there were to be a portrait of my
soul or your soul, how would it best be depicted? Does not the conscience
sting, when we think in these terms? Though we have engineered many ways
of avoiding physical consequences, how does one cleanse the soul?

We too, face Dorian Gray's predicament. Sooner or later, a duplicitous
life reveals the cost. The soul is not forever invisible. But there is
One who can cleanse and restore us. Indeed, hear the words of the prophet
Isaiah to which Oscar Wilde alluded: "Though your sins be as scarlet, they
shall be as white as snow. Though they be red like crimson, they shall be
as white as wool." The greatest artist of all speaks even today.
Ravi Zacharias

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