Redeemed

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20

I love to paint pictures that tell a story. For me, creating art is a personal spiritual journey that fills me with moments of inspiration and reflection. Finding ways to take a story that begins with tragedy and turn it into something good can be challenging. That’s exactly what God does when he goes to work in our lives, he can take the bad experiences we’ve been through and turn them into something useful, redeeming what was broken and putting it back together again for his glory.

I recently did a series of Alice in Wonderland paintings to create a picture of my life before and after accepting Christ. It seemed fitting to me that Alice falling into the rabbit hole was the perfect way to depict my descent into drug abuse in a painting titled Into the Mouth of Madness. I started using as a child and continued into my teen and adult life. I accepted Jesus when I was 16 years old but I still struggled with drug addiction for the next 15 years. It took me to the breaking point and I could not break free of the chains that bound me. It left me broken and my life shattered to pieces.

I created two paintings to juxtapose my life before and after becoming a Christian. My painting titled, Torn presents a puppet on a string being torn to pieces and held by painful hooks embedded into her skin, representing how enslaved I was to my addiction/sin. Destruction seemed to be my lot and my slave master was cold and cruel. I lived in fear and expressed that fear in the form of anger and hate. I hurt the people that I loved and pushed them as far away as I could. I was heavily into drugs and had no control or the power to stop myself. I once heard Reverend Leslie Clark say that sin will always take you further than you ever wanted to go. That always stuck with me. Looking back on my life and the times when I gave in to the temptations to use drugs, thinking that it would just be this once and God would forgive me, only to find myself three years down the road entangled again and unable to stop myself, reminds me of the truth in his words.

I’ve heard people say that all the drug addict needs to do is set their mind to getting better and have a positive attitude. Clearly, they have never been in that situation. It’s not that easy. Addiction is like falling into a deep dark pit, for me, the only way out was when Jesus pulled me out.

Psalm 40 says, “I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet upon a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in him.”

Redeemed is a painting about how Jesus changed my story. Alice emerges from the storybook to claim her reward of eternal life in the kingdom of God. The golden key unlocks the door to the kingdom and is a reference from one of my favorite authors, George McDonald. Time has stopped and is no more as she enters into eternity. Her story was once filled with pain and sorrow but is now full of magic and enchantment. The butterflies represent transformation and new life in Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:17 states, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old is gone, the new is here!”

My life is now hidden with Christ and he commands my destiny, only he is nothing like the cruel slave master who once controlled my steps. When I finally surrendered my life to Jesus, he set me free from addiction, the chains, and the bondage of sin and gave my life back to me. He has blessed me in so many ways and continues to shower me with his love daily.

My art has also gone through a transformation. What was once dark and maybe a little on the devilish side is now created as a testimony to his mercy and grace. My Christian art has become a form of worship and connection with God. It serves as a way for me to meditate on God’s promises and a reminder of his glorious grace and love. My goal as a Christian artist is to inspire viewers to see the beauty of faith and the trans-formative redeeming power of Jesus Christ.