Vincent van Gogh you say? Vincent van Gogh? How could this man's untold history actually have something to do with Jesus Christ? We were always taught in school that Van Gogh was a crazed, drunken, painter who eventually committed suicide. There is a beautiful story interwoven in Van Gogh's life, that we were never told about...so read on and be surprised (by the way, his name is pronounced "Van Goth", not "Van Go"...yeah, they even taught us how to pronounce his name wrong in school...)
Vincent Willem van Gogh was born March 30, 1853 in the Netherlands (he was Dutch) to a Dutch Reformed Pastor by the name of Theodorus van Gogh. To understand the story of Van Gogh, and his struggles, the basis must be set that he grew up in a predominately Catholic area, and that though his father was a Dutch Reformed minister (good right?), wrong, the Dutch Reformed Church was mainly a government church, controlled by many laws, with an approach to God through legalism, and not Grace. On a side note, the Dutch Reformed Church ceased to exist in the year 2004, when it merged with the Lutheran churches. Again, one must keep in mind the Catholic influence in the area, and a legalistic pastor for a father, while reading the rest of Van Gogh's history, to truly understand his struggles.
From an early age, Van Gogh wanted to be a pastor, not like his father, but one that preached the true Gospel of Grace of Jesus Christ. Van Gogh truly had a burning within his soul to share the Word of the Lord. Don't believe me? Read the letters to his brother (link below). Van Gogh was largely influenced by the preachings of the famous pastor, Charles Spurgeon.
First, Van Gogh was forced to attended a Catholic school for his education...it is to be noted that Van Gogh stayed true to his beliefs even after this, but it must have started a struggle within his soul, over what he was taught was true, and what he believed to be true, especially at such a young age. He was later pressured by his father to go to Theological College and become a pastor as his father, but Van Gogh rejected this based on his Biblical beliefs and the conflicting teachings of Theology.
At age 20, Van Gogh worked as an art dealer, quite successful, and making an above average living for the time. He fell in love with his land lady's daughter, and proposed to her...which she promptly rejected, telling Van Gogh she had a secret lover she had never told him about. Quite possibly the first notch in Van Gogh's soul that would come back to haunt him. For the time, Van Gogh would have been considered a "good catch"...both historians and family alike recount that this was possibly the happiest, most successful time for Van Gogh.
Although Van Gogh was a successful art dealer, he soon gave that up (and his lucrative paycheck), to go and teach at a boys school for Rev. William Stokes. Van Gogh still felt his calling to be in pastoralship. Being able to share the gospel with the young boys, Van Gogh then joined with another pastor, Rev. T. Slade Jones at another boys school. Van Gogh spent his time between the two boys schools, teaching and sharing the gospel. Once again it was said that this was the happiest time in Van Gogh's life.
Historians note that Van Gogh would spend hours and hours a day, reading and rereading the Bible. Van Gogh could not get enough of the Word. Again, we are never taught this in school, but Van Gogh is noted with translating the Bible into other languages of the time, so the Gospel could be read by others (most people are not aware of this).
Van Gogh approached Rev. Jones one day and requested to be able to preach. Jones agreed to let Van Gogh preach before their prayer meetings, of which his teachings must have been blessed, because Jones soon let Van Gogh have the pulpit and begin preaching Sunday sermons in his church. Van Gogh would go on to preach at up to four churches a day, regardless of the denomination - Van Gogh was one of the first "non-denominational pastors", but he never watered down his words, regardless of where he was preaching.
Here is Van Gogh's very first sermon, delivered in his early 20s:
http://www.vggallery.com/misc/archives/sermon.htm
Yeah, too bad there aren't pastors like Van Gogh today - he was noted to truly care for the people and to meet their needs as a pastor. His sermons Christ centered, and much noted to quote scripture.
Van Gogh's passion for the people, as Christ had compassion upon the multitudes, grew to where he felt a calling to be a missionary. He twice applied for missionary school and failed. One must understand missionaries of the time - for support, you had to pass the "missionary exam" of a Theological college. Although it is never noted why Van Gogh failed, it could possibly have been because he answered the questions according to the Gospels, and not according to man's teachings.
Undeterred, and with the burning of the Gospel in his heart, Van Gogh voluntarily went (with no support), as a self-proclaimed missionary to the coal mining town of Borinage, Belguim. This was stated by historians to be "the most inhospitable, improvised" location in all of Western Europe. Van Gogh preached to the miners, and saw to every need they had as he possible could. He felt so desperate their plight that he gave away his own money, food and clothes to them, and slept in straw behind a Baker's hut, because he did find himself above them, and as Christ shared in our sufferings, Van Gogh felt the same calling. The Baker's wife stated that every night she would hear Van Gogh sobbing behind their house, calling out to God, interceding for the plight of the miners.
This raised the ire of the formal, government church...Van Gogh was making them look bad. The formal church did little (if anything) to help the miners (let's face it, they were considered trash by the organized church), and a pastor was to live in a home (not in straw) and receive a salary (not give it away). Jealous of Van Gogh, the Church, yes "the church", forbade him to return to the miners. The church leaders of the time are actually quoted as saying "[he] is undermining the dignity of the Priesthood." It was also during this time that Van Gogh's own father ("the Dutch Reformed Pastor") sought to have his own son committed to a lunatic asylum because of his beliefs in Jesus.
Now, I have to pause here for a moment and ask...does Van Gogh's story in any way resemble Jesus' walk here on earth? Didn't they call him "mad", and the church of the time seek to shut him up?
Van Gogh was forced by the church to move away, and from a distance began sketching the miners, trying to raise concern to others for their plight and horrid living conditions. Rejected by the church, unable to continue in the mining villages as a missionary, Van Gogh stated..."...if I cannot preach, I will paint, and every painting that I do will be for the glory to God." Van Gogh's aspiration, facing such rejection, was to be an "artist in the service of God."
I will not dwell so deeply on Van Gogh's years as an artist, as there is much more history surrounding this, than is time as a pastor. However, I do need to use it to bring a conclusion to Van Gogh's story.
While studying to be an artist, he once again fell in love, and proposed marriage, but again refused (this time because he was now a pauper himself, having given all he had to the miners). This was of course the third notch on his soul.
It is somewhere at this point in his life that Van Gogh lost sight of his calling. History does not state what happened, because history does not understand the calling of a pastor, and how if unfulfilled, will eat constantly at your soul.
Van Gogh fell in love a third time, with a prostitute named Sien who had a 5 year old daughter. It is hypothesized that this began because Van Gogh had compassion on them and their plight. Having been rejected twice in marriage proposals, Van Gogh did not propose this third time, as he could not face rejection again. Van Gogh had a son with Sien, and they named him Willem after Van Gogh.
With Van Gogh unable to make a living as a painter, Sien turned back to prostitution to feed the family (unbeknowest to Van Gogh). Upon the birth of their son, Van Gogh did propose marriage, so that his son would have a father and not be considered illegitimate. Sien refused, probably not because of Van Gogh, but because of her secret life of prostitution. Unable to live with herself of this decision, Sien took her life by drowning herself in the River Scheldt.
Sien's daughter was then given to her mother, and Willem (Van Gogh's son), to Sien's brother. It is believed that the children were not given to Van Gogh because he could neither support himself, and was still considered a lunatic by many, based on his earlier years of preaching. Although I've not touched on it here, Van Gogh dearly loved children, as Christ said, "...forbid them not to come to him...".
Childless, rejected by the church, unable to be a missionary, thrice rejected in marriage, and unable to sell a painting, by this time in ill health, Van Gogh turned to drinking. Van Gogh's ill health came shortly after he left the mining town - although never fully known, it is assumed that it came from breathing the coal dust, and later aggravated by the fumes of the oil paints - which combined to cause him to have epileptic like seizures. Due to the ignorance of the time, this furthered the belief that he was "lunatic".
Three years later, in 1886, Van Gogh again fell in love a fourth time with a woman named Margot, and again proposed marriage (for the fourth time). Margot accepted, but neither parents gave approval, so the marriage could not happen. Unable to accept this, Margot attempted suicide by strychnine, but was saved when Van Gogh rushed her to the hospital. Upon recovery, with no chance for marriage, the two parted ways. Van Gogh's father, who had strongly opposed the marriage (actually all of his marriage proposals were never supported by his father), died one year later. This deeply impacted Van Gogh, who, because of their difference in religious beliefs, had always been rejected by his father.
In Van Gogh's early years, he painted those in poverty, because he had compassion for them, and wanted to bring awareness to their conditions. Later in life, Van Gogh's favorite paintings were wheat fields and harvests. His final painting, "Wheat Field with Crows", is often associated with Vincent's first sermon, and that his sojourning upon earth was almost over, and the field was ready for harvest: The "road" was uphill, and the journey long. (Van Gogh loved to paint wheat fields because it oft reminded him of the Harvest in the Bible)
http://bobbyriesterer.com/gogh/themeimages/f_0779.jpg
No one knows why, but can only assume that his loneliness and rejection (he was ridiculed as a painter), and his rejection by the church, as well as his bouts of seizures, led to this moment - on July 27, 1890, Van Gogh took his paints and his easel to the wheat field, and there shot himself in the chest. Van Gogh was only 37 years old.
The story does not end here though - there is hope - the self-inflicted gun shot was not immediately mortal...in fact, Van Gogh was able to walk back to his room, where a doctor found him and contacted his brother Theo. The bullet had deflected off a rib and lodged against his spine, but no organs had been touched. Removable however was impossible due to the close proximity to the spine. For the next 29 hours, Van Gogh was held in the arms of his brother Theo as they talked - Van Gogh, during his life, had tried to win his brother to Christ. It is unknown what was spoken of in these final hours, however, I can only hope that Van Gogh recalled his once true passion and relationship with Christ, and as he felt his life waning, came back Jesus. Why else would God have spared his life another 29 hours? It was also noted by Theo and the two physicians on hand, and Van Gogh himself, that he was in little to no pain during these 29 hours.
And that my folks is the life story of Van Gogh that schools will never teach. In his lifetime, only a few of his paintings made any money, and not much at that. At the time of his death, an art dealer had taken a liking to Van Gogh and his paintings, having just sold several of them for quite a substantial sum...however, word of this sale would arrive after his death.
A Van Gogh painting today...well, the most anyone has ever paid was $140 million dollars, and the least (that I could find) $35 million. Van Gogh wold paint some 2100 paintings in his lifetime. And in his own words, "...if I cannot preach, I will paint, and every painting that I do will be for the glory to God."
Still persecuted by the church for his Biblical preaching (can the church not forgive?), he was barred from burial in a church cemetery - which prevented him from being buried with his family. However, a smaller, more forgiving church in the adjoining town, permitted his burial. Six months later, grieving over the brother who had tried to win him for Christ, Theo died of a broken heart. Theo and Vincent had wished to be buried together, but because of the church, could not. In 1914, Theo's still living wife, had Theo moved and buried beside his brother Vincent.
Van Gogh to Theo...a sermon in a letter
http://vangoghletters.org/vg/letters/let096/letter.html
Van Gogh's Letters to his Brother Theo (some 700)
http://vangoghletters.org/vg/letters.html
From Preaching to Painting
http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=752
Why Van Gogh liked Wheat Fields
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheat_Fields_(Van_Gogh_series)
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