Many an encouragement comes in the early hours of the day! I almost missed this encouragement from my dream. As you will see I was puzzled. The puzzlement conveys a message too. My initial reaction was: ‘Should I give time to this dream?’ It wasn’t something bad or discouraging – just strange! As I am learning though this is often how God speaks and particularly through dreams. I decided to go for it!
So often I find when I engage with a dream and take time praying and thinking about it I have insights.
In the dream I had created a picture and used it as a blessing and put it through someone’s letterbox.
The picture was of something I was trying to find the term for in the dream. The picture was of the effect that takes place where you look in a mirror and you see yourself depending on the angle going back and back and back! I knew in the dream I needed to look that effect up.
On waking a quick Google search led me to Wikipedia where I found straight away what I was looking for. Here are the entries.
The Droste effect (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈdrɔstə]), known in art as an example of mise en abyme, is the effect of a picture recursively appearing within itself, in a place where a similar picture would realistically be expected to appear, creating a loop which theoretically could go on forever, but realistically only goes on as far as the image’s quality allows.[2]The effect is named for a Dutch brand of cocoa, with an image designed by Jan Misset in 1904. It has since been used in the packaging of a variety of products. The effect was anticipated in medieval works of art such as Giotto‘s Stefaneschi Triptych of 1320.
A common sense of the phrase is the visual experience of standing between two mirrors, seeing as a result an infinite reproduction of one’s image.[1]
In reading those entries I understand the concept of the Droste effect. I then ask myself what do I need to know in regards to the picture that I give in my dream? I break it down in my thoughts.
In the dream I give a picture to someone which is a recursive picture. I remember after the dream what the picture was of – A door within a door, within a door etc. I left the picture with a person. No one specific. Why would I give such a picture to someone as a blessing?
(Incidentally the Droste effect reminded me of fractals. See my post back in 2017 on fractal attractors if interested).
What is a blessing? Something that has a positive affect in someone’s life.
The crux of the dream is going to a person’s house (no one specific) and leaving a recursive picture of a door as a blessing.
The first point I glean is, whatever you do in life towards people by blessing them that which is good, lovely, wholesome, etc. is a gift. It’s up to them to take that gift and receive it. This particular gift of a recurring door opens up for them if they choose to receive it. Doors to blessing will have an on going effect in their lives.
As I wrote that I thought of the Ultimate Door – Jesus. When Jesus said I am the door or the gate, he was probably thinking of the sheepfold. This is the place at night where the sheep were driven to be safe. It was often a rectangular shape with no roof about the height of a man. In that rectangle construction was a break in the wall – a door way. The shepherd would lie across it or stand in it positioning himself to protect from one of the main sheep enemies the wolf. John 10.1-18
Another point of the dream is to convey to the dreamer and the ones who are listening and want to be obedient to the Lord, that they bring a message of hope to whoemever they meet. They bring blessing. Blessings are many and varied.
The door in my dream is also symbolic of the heart. Whoever opens the door to the message of the Gospel, the Good News, i.e. Jesus, will receive blessing. This does require repentance towards God.
Psalm 24:5 (LEB): He will receive blessing from Yahweh, and justice from the God of his salvation.
If you click on the blessing link you will find bible references about blessing.
In the dream the blessing was qualified. It was both an image and a picture of a recursive door. It was a blessing picture. A picture is something we look at. This picture of a door is more than just a picture. This picture reminds us of a person. The Ultimate Door!
Not only is the person the Ultimate Door. He is the The Ultimate Blessing! He comes to us again and again and again in all kinds of ways if we have ears to hear and eyes to see!
A true story to illustrate.
A few years ago I went as part of a prayer ministry team to support an evangelist in the Ukraine. One particular morning we were at an open air service. Quite literally open air as the the stadium where the rally was to take place didn’t have a roof on!
It was a bright day and the wind was blowing quite forcefully. The elements were in some turmoil. I was excited as I had seen racing Eleonara’s Falcon’s (Falco eleonorae). Exciting for me. See some of my other posts on this website in regards to love of nature.
The sun had that washed out kind of look and there was a halo around it. A particular weather phenomenon I don’t know the name of. Someone took a Polaroid photo of the phenomenon and there was some excitement in the audience of many people as the picture was brought up to the platform! The evangelist used the picture as part of his message to say that a door in heaven was open for people to receive Jesus.
When I looked at the photo there was indeed a door shape between the halo and the sun. It was a glowing arched portal and it had been recorded for all to see.
What was a natural event the Spirit of God had overlayed with spiritual significance.
Jesus is the door we are saved from the ravenous wolf, in him is our sheepfold. Our place of safety. The wolf represents our enemy, the one who is out to rob, steal and destroy.
Jesus is our representative. He represents us to the Father making us Holy (different, like him) But he also represents us as the new creation. As Francois Du Toit says in The Mirror version of the Bible:
Jesus is not an example for us but of us.
(Col 1:15, 2:9, 10).
We could say, where John says in 1 John 4:17 ‘We love because he first loved us‘. We bless because he first blessed us!
Jesus said: “Behold I stand at the door and knock…“