Is Your Hunger Being Satisfied? - Part 1

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

for they shall be satisfied. – Matthew 5:6

Have you ever gone a day where you're running late and skip breakfast, then for whatever reason you have to miss lunch too? I have had it happen a couple times and I can tell you, by the time I get home after work I am ready to pillage and plunder the kitchen. Nothing within the pantry is safe at that moment. Even stale chips in the back of the cabinet begin to look appetizing.

We all know what it means to be hungry. In varying degrees, it is something every human is familiar with. It is not something we need to be taught to identify or discover. From the newborn screaming at three o’clock in the morning, to adults getting hangry in the afternoon, you know when you are hungry. It is a basic, instinctual, hardwired reality in our life. When our bodies need food they let us know, and if that need is never met, we die.

I find it interesting that this idea of hunger and thirst, along with their satisfaction, is used by Jesus as an illustration in Matthew 5:6. This idea has captured my thoughts lately, and I would love to share a few of those thoughts with you.

I plan to do this in two parts, looking at hunger first, then its satisfaction second.

HUNGER

This may not be earth shattering news for some, but when you are hungry or thirsty, it's because you are not eating or drinking. Feel free to pause if you need to collect your thoughts after that mind blowing truth. But seriously, your body reacts to its need and creates a physical experience to get you moving toward food or water. It’s that simple.

In the same way that we all have physical hunger, we also all experience a hunger within our hearts. Every one of us has a spiritual hunger, and there is no problem with desiring that it be satisfied. However, we do have a problem in that we deny and suppress what the hunger is pointing us toward (John 12:43). The problem is our rejection of what will actually satisfy the hunger.

This is a sad reality when it comes to our spiritual hunger, that there are many who think they are full and satisfied, as if just finishing their fourth plate from a buffet, yet they are wasting away from starvation. Like walking skeletons, they move from one craving to another while their souls are starving to death, all while denying the reality of their terminal condition. They refuse to see that their souls are desperate for satisfaction, but what they are feeding it never gives it.

We all, deep down, know this reality of our heart’s condition. We know this because no matter how much we get the things we desire, we keep wanting more. The money, the toys, the pleasure, the fame, all of it, never satisfies.

To try and open this idea up more, let’s look at the ways we can respond to our soul’s hunger. I believe there are two ways.

ATTEMPTING TO BE SATISFIED BY YOURSELF

I see this response fleshing itself out in at least two ways. I’m sure there are others, but these two have been on my mind the most.

First is the pursuit of self glorifying pleasure.

I want it, so I’m going to get it. It makes me feel good, so I’m going to do it. I want sex, so pornography or fornication is ok. I want this standard of life, so sacrificing my family for my job is ok. I want to be accepted, and will compromise anything to gain it. I was hurt by this person, so I get to hurt them back. And the list goes on.

This response is from the person who throws caution and conscience to the wind in pursuit of their pleasures, simply because they want them. The desires are real, the hungers are real, but the means of satisfying them fail over and over. It is as if you are thirsty, yet by passing up a cup of clean cool water, you scoop up a handful of salt and throw it in your mouth. This not only fails to satisfy the thirst, but it will leave you with a greater thirst than before.

What is even more troubling is that when the person gets what they hoped would satisfy, and then when they discover its inability to truly satisfy, they tend to go on denying the water will help and continue gorging on the salt over and over, in increasing amounts, expecting it to somehow meet their need. However, it never does, and in this pattern of life your soul will starve to death.

Second is the pursuit of self glorifying praise.

I go to church. I’m nice to my neighbors. I’m not perfect, but I try to do what is right. I’m a good person. I don’t lie, steal, cheat, or murder. I pay my taxes. I’m a hard and honest worker. And on and on.

This type of response, on the surface can look right, and that is why it is so deadly. The question is not about what the person is doing on the outside, the question is about what is satisfying them on the inside. If it is their own glory and praise, then the person is driven by pride or bound by fear. They are seeking to be satisfied by their adherence to moral duty or following religious systems. They seek self glorifying praise by giving every effort to prove they are a good person to themselves, to others, or to God. Then on the other side, they live in fear of being seen as a bad person by themselves, others, and God.

Think of it in the context of telling a lie. Let's assume you chose to tell the truth in a difficult situation. It may even cost you something to be honest, but why did you do it? If you are seeking your own glory, it is motivated by fear or pride. Either you said it because you were afraid you would be caught in your lie, and things would be worse, or you did it because you want to be seen as a noble and good person who tells the truth. Jonathan Edwards called this common virtue, and while it helps society function, it does not satisfy your soul. Instead, it is as if your stomach growls, and you pass up a steak dinner to go run a marathon hoping it will fix it. However when you finish running, you are exhausted and now even more famished than before. You work harder and harder, pushing yourself to try and prove you can do it yourself, or because you are afraid of what failing will cause. If this pattern continues in your life, your soul will collapse on the track, dead from it’s starvation.

Both of these two ways of trying to fulfill the hunger of your soul will leave you empty. The scary part is they are both so alluring and deceiving. Self glorifying pleasure can feel like it is meeting your needs for a time, but the shine starts to wears off, and you find yourself wanting more. It's like a child getting a new toy, to then only see something else a week later that catches his eye, and suddenly the new toy in his hand is not as satisfying as the one in someone else's. It's a vicious cycle, and we treat the hunger in our soul the same way.

Self glorifying praise can feel like it is satisfying us, but we never feel like we have done enough good to keep the applause coming. Or we constantly look over our shoulder, walking in fear of someone finding out where we have failed. We live exhausted lives working to both bring and protect our praise with our actions and choices.

This continual effort brings up a question, if we seek to satisfy your soul's hunger with our own pursuits and efforts, however we never feel satisfied and continually long for more, what is the conclusion?

We find that we cannot supply the satisfaction to our hunger.

Now some at this point may say that the answer then is to deny the hunger. We cannot satisfy it, so you must fight the cravings. However, you will never overcome them. A hungry man living on the streets cannot stop the pain in his gut by will power or convincing himself he is not starving to death. Only food will stop it. He will die if he does not eat. In the same way, neither can we stop the hunger pains in our soul, or the coming spiritual death if it is not satisfied. We must accept that we were designed and created with a desire for satisfaction, pleasure, and joy. It is hardwired within us, just like physical hunger. The difference is, our spiritual hunger cannot be satisfied by our own efforts. They just will not work.

So what will work? We have to accept what our soul is hungry for, which brings us to the other response to our hunger.

DESIRING SATISFACTION IN CHRIST

I find it interesting that in Matthew 5:6, Jesus gives a qualifier for the hunger before it can be satisfied. Christ doesn't just say that if you are hungry, you will be satisfied. Instead he tells what type of hunger will be satisfied. Don't miss that! All of our souls are growling in hunger and are panting in thirst, the question is what kind of food and drink will satisfy it? It is not the desire to feast on our own self glorifying pleasure or praise, but one for righteousness that is satisfied!

And with that, we have a big problem! But before we jump into that, we need to define this term righteousness. Webster does a pretty good job on this one.

Righteous:
1. acting in accord with divine or moral law :  free from guilt or sin
2. morally right or justifiable

Justified, free from guilt or sin, to act in accord with the standards of God. Sounds pretty tough. Can you do that? Can you be that? Can you be morally perfect, are you free from guilt or sin?

Some may read this definition of righteousness and only see it as a cause to try harder. Please, do not hear that! The definition points to a greater reality. A person who is justified, and free from guilt or sin, is someone who has a right relationship with God. Sin separates us from God, and we all have sin in our hearts. (Matthew 15:18-19) That is what your soul is hungry for. It is starving for a right relationship with God, but our sin keeps us from it! (Isaiah 59:2)

Now do you see the big problem? It is not only that you have been trying to feed your soul the wrong thing, it is that you are unable feed it the right thing! (Romans 3:10-12)

It is when we realize the hunger of our soul is for a right relationship with God, that we realize that we cannot satisfy it, because we cannot produce it, and that is when hope arrives!

It arrives because we can now see that our hunger and thirst for righteousness is actually a hunger and thirst for Christ! God knows the hunger we have, because he made it in us. He knows we cannot satisfy the hunger ourselves by making our own way back to him, so he came to us! He took on flesh in the person of Jesus Christ, and lived a sinless, perfect, and righteous life on behalf of those who will lay down their desires to glorify themselves with pleasures and praise, and long to glorify him by seeing him as worthy of all praise, and as the source of our ultimate joy and pleasure.

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It is when we realize the hunger of our soul is for a right relationship with God, that we realize that we cannot satisfy it, because we cannot produce it, and that is when hope arrives!

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Christ does not give you satisfaction, as in giving you something outside himself, he himself is the satisfaction to the hunger. He is the glass of water, rather than the handful of salt. He is the steak dinner rather than the marathon. He is the one who will satisfy you for all eternity, because He is the one who can give you what your heart longs for the most; to be right with God, the one your soul was made for.

So the question is simple, what are you trying to satisfy your soul’s hunger and thirst with? One leads to life, one will starve it to death. Consider these verses as you reflect on your answer.

My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water. – Jeremiah 2:13

Jesus answered and said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life. – John 4:13-14

You will say in that day:
“I will give thanks to you, O Lord,
    for though you were angry with me,
your anger turned away,
    that you might comfort me.
“Behold, God is my salvation;
    I will trust, and will not be afraid;
for the Lord God is my strength and my song,
    and he has become my salvation.”
With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. – Isaiah 12:1-3

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. – John 6:35

Stay tuned for part two on how Christ gives us righteousness to satisfy our hunger.

He Will Judge The Nations

 

And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment – Hebrews 9:27

Exodus is one of my favorite books in the Old Testament. Its stories are epic in scale with the author sharing real events that paint the dramatic picture of God’s deliverance for His chosen people. Within its account of Israel's freedom from slavery in Egypt, it is rich with beautiful and vivid symbols that point us to Christ, foreshadowing the work of our Savior. One of the stories that I enjoy most is the passover.

Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers' houses, a lamb for a household.

Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight.

They shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses.

It is the Lord's Passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord. The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt. – Exodus 12:3,5-7,11-13

If you have been in church for sometime, this is likely a story you are familiar with. God is setting His people free from their captivity through bringing judgement on the land of Egypt. By this point in the narrative, God has sent nine other judgements upon Egypt as the pharaoh continues to deny the release of God's people. Finally God warns of a final plague, He will go through the land and kill all the firstborn of every man and beast. (Exodus 11:4-5)

But there is something here that I don’t believe we always think about, and I don’t want us to miss it.

Israel was not spared God’s judgement. We tend to simply let that thought pass because they were the ones set free from captivity, however the picture is bigger than that. God’s judgment swept across the entire land of Egypt, and this included Israel. God’s people were not spared the judgement, instead, they were given a way to escape under the judgement. And what was the means of their escape? Trusting in the blood of the lamb.

What would have happened if they would have trusted in something else? What if rather than believing God’s word, they trusted in themselves to determine what would protect them from God's impending wrath? What if they convinced themselves that God is not a God who judges, and would never do anything like that to them? Or if they decided mud would work on the door, rather than blood? Or if they decided that blood from a different animal would work, or even accepting a few blemishes on the lamb they sacrificed? What would have happened, is that they too would have suffered under the judgement. God's wrath came out upon them, however they believed and obeyed, and it passed over them. They escaped it, but they were not spared it.

But why were they passed over?

Because something died in place of their first born. The blood of the lamb showed that the necessary death God's judgment required had been satisfied.

Now this event that took place in the ancient world will happen again. However it will not be localized to the land of Egypt, instead it will cover the entire earth. There is a judgement coming that every person will face, and it is a judgement of life or death. Not one person will be spared it.

And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment – Hebrews 9:27

The mortality rate of every person is 100%. We are appointed by God for death, and then the judgment. No one is spared it, yet just as Israel had hope in the death of the lamb, so do all men today have hope in the blood of Christ! He is the lamb that was slain to provide freedom from sin's penalty! (John 1:29)

We all have earned death from our sin (Romans 6:23), but this death is maybe not what you think. We have all sinned against a holy God, yet you are alive reading this. Your heart beats, and your lungs work, so what is this death? It is the death that comes after the judgement. It is the casting away that God will do to those who have not had their sins paid for by the death of Christ.

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death. – Revelation 2:11

So have you conquered? Has the penalty and power sin has over your heart been conquered by Christ? Do you love, submit, pursue, desire, and trust Him? There are many today, who refuse to believe and obey what God has said on this subject. They are busy trying to find something else to put on the doorposts of their heart, rather than submitting to Christ. Perhaps they have convinced themselves that His words are not true, and He will not judge anyone. However, the judgement will still come and Christ is our only hope to escape it, and that escape gives us everything!

The escape is not the end, but a means to the end. It is the means to be with God forever. To enjoy His glory forever, and to see and experience Him as our source of all joy, peace, and satisfaction.

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. – Psalm 16:11

If you do not know Him, I beg you to see Him as beautiful in His death on the cross. He is the lamb that died in your place. See what he offers you, a right relationship with God, then abandon your sin and run to Him!

You can purchase a print of this poster on the shop at Society6.

Dads, Wash Your Children's Feet

He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. – John 13:4-5

It was a Saturday afternoon and I had tried to carve out a bit of time to work on a drawing. I gathered my papers and pens and had set up shop at the table. I started to make a few marks and then it happened. The sound of a child crying because they couldn’t find a blanket, or someone needed help in the bathroom, or a doll needed a wardrobe change, or someone couldn’t reach something. Then after the second or third, or other times even at the first interruption, I slammed down my pen and trudged off to try and address the problem quickly so that I could get back to what I wanted to be doing. To make matters worse, while trying to take care of their needs, things came from my lips like, “you need to keep up with your stuff…” or, “if you wouldn’t be so rough with your toy, it wouldn’t keep coming apart…” These words in themselves were not bad advice and could be good instruction, however, too often the tone of my voice coupled with body language simply said, “Do things right so you won't bother me with it!”

These moments are too common. I don’t have it all together as a father or husband. I really don’t. I get impatient at the drop of a hat and I am prone to be extremely selfish with my time. It's a hard fight within me. My sinful flesh ignites quickly in those situations and the first thought that goes through my mind is not serving my family, but that they are taking me away from my selfish desires.

I’m sure every father can relate to this on some level. Maybe it's while working in the garage, trying to watch the game, read a book, or just get a moment to sit and relax, but the result is always the same.

If you really want to boil it down and say it truthfully, the way we treat our families in those moments is telling them that we are more important than them; and that we will make them suffer for needing us. Regardless of our intentions, it communicates that it’s their fault for taking us away from what we were doing. That when you need us, we will get angry at you, and it is like pounding a wedge between us and our children.

Fellow dads, we have to fight this, and our only hope to overcome is not in our ability to will new reactions and censor ourselves, but it is in a new heart. This is because our words and actions flow out of our hearts.

The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. – Luke 6:45

The reality is that this is not something we can create for ourselves. We cannot give ourselves a new and good heart. Rather it must be done by the transforming work of Christ dwelling in us! We must depend on his grace to give us strength in those moments to follow his example. (Psalm 51:10)

And what an example he gave us! Think of the night Christ shared the passover in the upper room, where he washed the feet of his disciples. Here is Christ the night before he would give his life up for others, among the men that he loved, listening to them argue about who would be the greatest among them; and Jesus takes the position of a servant. He humbles himself to wash their feet, their dirty, mud-crusted, slop-covered feet. When you watch him, he doesn’t slam down his cup, or bang his fist on the table and grunt or sigh. He doesn’t throw the basin down so everyone knows he is frustrated and upset that he had to get up and do this. Instead, he humbly and quietly takes action to serve those he loved. He saw their need, and his ability to meet it.

I want to be like that for my family. Seeing their needs and giving up my wants and desires to help them have theirs, just as Christ saw my need for him as being greater than his holding on to heaven (Philippians 2:5-8). So men, let us fight hard when the urge arises in us to let loose our frustration by remembering God’s long suffering and patience with us. Let us display to our children the love of Christ that patiently welcomes them with their needs.

Let us pick up the towel, the water, and get on our knees and wash our families’ feet.

God Killed Me

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

Follow your heart. Follow your dreams. Be true to yourself. Trust your heart. Do what is right for you. Do what makes you feel good.

We have all heard these sentiments chanted in our culture. From our family, our entertainment, and even from within ourselves, we are no strangers to them. These cords of thinking are so deeply woven into our being that at times they emerge from us as guidance without even a thought behind their meaning. We give no heed to the one thing these statements revolve around.

You.

Follow and trust yourself. Give into your passions and desires. You are the one who leads your life. For many this likely doesn’t seem to be a problem, and these thoughts come very naturally. However, this way of thinking comes with a dangerous presupposition; you are capable of defining what is true and what is right for yourself. That you are a good and trustworthy person.

However, the truth is, we are not good people. None of us are. (Romans 3:10-12) We in fact all desire evil, and are each consumed with a passion for it. We drink of it, yet our thirst is never quenched. We eat of it, yet our stomachs cramp with the pangs of hunger. We seek our rest in it, yet we lay sleepless with no contentment.

So, what is this evil?

It is that we are consumed with a passion and desire for our own glory. (Romans 1:25) We fight and claw to have our purpose and our way above God’s. That, my friends, is the essence of evil, and it is what we pursue. However, no matter how much of it we get, it's never enough. No matter how much we assert our own will over God's, it never satisfies. It leaves us empty, straining, and plotting for more. The reason it has never satisfied, is because we were not designed to be satisfied by ourselves. (Jeremiah 2:12-13) This is our great evil that leaves us empty.

That is also why from Christ we hear a much different plea. From the mouth of our creator we hear a call to follow Him, not ourselves. And do not mistake it, it is a call to die. (Mark 8:34) To die to yourself. To lay down everything you are, your thoughts, desires, and actions, under His rule.

But who wants to die to themselves? Who volunteers for that? It is the one who has seen something worth dying for. (2 Corinthians 4:3-6) It is the one who has seen more value and beauty in Christ than they see in themselves. They are willing to die. For those that have truly seen Christ, the fear of dying to yourself grows dim in the radiant beauty of what that death will award you. They are then willing to lay hold of Christ at the cost of themselves. They will give up following their own heart, to follow God's. (Acts 13:22)

But what does that look like? How does someone see God as more beautiful than themselves? It takes seeing who you really are in the light of who God really is. When we see that God is holy, just, and righteous, and He will not tolerate the sin in our rejection of Him, we start to see ourselves in the light of His glory. He is God, we are not, and all we are owed from Him is destruction. (Isaiah 6:1-7, James 4:4)

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Seeing ourselves under God's wrath is the only way we can start to see Christ as more desirable than ourselves.

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Yet hope comes in that sate. Seeing yourself as cursed, ruined, and hopeless under God’s wrath is the beginning of dying to yourself. (James 4:6) Because it is there, that you can see the glory of Christ. It is there you can see that He paid the penalty you deserve. (2 Corinthians 5:21) It is there that you see His wrath as loving, due to its ability to give you what you need most, the ability to see God as gloriously beautiful in His sacrifice of His Son for your sin.

Seeing ourselves under God's wrath is the only way we can start to see Christ as more desirable than ourselves. Then we can desire to be crucified with Him, buried with Him, to be raised to new life with Him. (Romans 6:1-7) We then see the reward of dying to ourselves is Him!

This is what God did in my life. This is what this poster is about. God opened my eyes to His glory, and I died under its weight. God's glory killed me, then raised me to a new life with Him!

So I ask, do you see God as more desirable than yourself? Is His way more beautiful than yours? If not, I have to wonder, are you really alive?

You can purchase a print from the shop on Society 6.

Why Create?

It's probably the most defining question any artist can ask themselves. Your answer to it will be the wind that fills your sails, driving every creative pursuit and project, along with charting the course of your vision and purpose.

The question is: why do I create?

It’s a good question to ask ourselves as artists, and we should be careful, honest, and thoughtful in how we answer it.

I’ve asked it to other creatives I’ve known over the years and have received a variety of responses. Some say they just enjoy it. Some say it’s a passion they feel they must express. Some express that they have to get the ideas out of their head or they will go crazy. Others simply claim it’s part of who they are.

All of these I have felt, and on some level, have also found myself in agreement with. However, lately something changed. Something started to creep into my mind when I thought on this question.

The more I considered the reason I create, the more my answer became shaped by my answer to a different question. A question of identity.

The question: who am I?

Well, there are many answers to that question. I am Shawn. I am a son, a brother, a husband, a father. I’m a designer, a church member, a lantern collector, a beard grower, and the list goes on. When I think about it, I’m a lot of things. However, there is one thing that I am that is before all the others. It is the ultimate title of my identity that makes every other title in my life not only possible, but even gives each of them their purpose and value.

You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. –1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Who am I? I am not my own. I do not belong to myself, and I wouldn’t want it any other way! I was bought with a price, and that price was the blood of Jesus Christ. I was a slave to sin, bound to death, and held captive by an evil enemy. I could not free myself from that condition, but someone else could. That someone was Christ! He came and paid my debt and set me free. Free to belong to Him. Who else would I want to belong to? Myself? That only brought death. I love belonging to Him where there is life and joy! (Ephesians 2:1-10)

So how does this reality influence my answer to the first question, why do I create? If I am not my own, and every source of joy in my life flows from this new relationship with God (John 15:11), and I was brought into this relationship by His grace, then I want everything I do to show the beauty of the one who made me alive! I was designed for God to be glorified in me, and I was also made to enjoy His beauty! So with that, God put a new desire in me, a 1 Corinthians 10:31 desire.

Do everything for the glory of God. – 1 Corinthians 10:31

I’m pretty sure that “everything” includes drawing an image, creating a design, or any creative pursuit. So then the question… how do I do that? How do I create for God's glory?

The answer came from an unexpected place. Exodus. Yep, a book about God freeing His people from captivity and teaching them how to use their redemption for His glory. Sounds a little familiar huh?

In Exodus I came across a passage of scripture that as an artist stopped me in my tracks. In Exodus 35, God’s word talks about people like me, and it’s beautiful.

Let every skillful craftsman among you come and make all that the LORD has commanded… – Exodus 35:10

This verse has become the focus of my creative efforts. But to really grasp the full weight of meaning, we need to look at verses 30-35

Then Moses said to the people of Israel, “See, the Lord has called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, with intelligence, with knowledge, and with all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold and silver and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, for work in every skilled craft. And he has inspired him to teach, both him and Oholiab the son of Ahisamach of the tribe of Dan. He has filled them with skill to do every sort of work done by an engraver or by a designer or by an embroiderer in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, or by a weaver—by any sort of workman or skilled designer. –Exodus 35:30-35

I cannot tell you the amount of stirring that takes place in my heart when I read these scriptures! God has gifted people, with skill, intelligence, knowledge, and craftsmanship, to make things that look good! Beautiful things! But why…?

What is the context of this scripture? What is going on here? The people of Israel are building the tabernacle, the tent that would be used to worship God: that God would come and fill with His glory! (Exodus 40:34) And guess what, He wanted it to look good. He wanted well crafted things, beautiful designs, purposeful work that meant something. It was not aimless or mindless or self-glorifying. It was skillful and intelligent. Having each part infused with meaning so that all of it points to Christ who is the ultimate display of God’s glory! (Hebrews 1:3)

I believe it is the desire of God for every person to use their skills and talents in a way that brings glory to Him, and to follow 1 Corinthians 10:31. So for me, there came a moment that I decided everything I create must be for His glory. It needs to speak of a truth from Scripture, tell of an experience of God's truth in my life, and no matter what it is, leave no doubt that its creation is meant to glorify God.

So that is why I create, and I hope if you are an artist reading this that it stirs your affections toward Christ to a point that you will do the same. There is no higher calling for an artist! Draw people to Christ with your art; to that which can truly satisfy.