What’s My Why?

“What’s my why?” This kind of question seems a little cheese to answer or even ask. It’s just one of those questions that’s presupposed so intensely that I don’t even separate it from anything. It’s a part of my nature! But, I know you’re reading this because you’re dying to know lol. Okay so, the reason I make art (and do everything else too) is…

GOD’S GLORY. Don’t worry, I’m not gonna start speaking Christian-ese. No loftiness over here! Christianity is more sure than the ground you stand on! Jesus is seriously Lord. He factually saved me from my destruction that was inevitable. Now wait a sec because I’m about to blast you with something so logically sound that it may in fact save you from yourself.

NATURE. Can we agree that dogs are limited to dog things. Like playing fetch, eating their food, licking a bowl, loving their owner. But they can’t do calculus right? Can they build a house? Nope. Can they drive a car and go grocery shopping? No! They can’t because they are limited to their dog nature!!! When we are born, we are limited by our fallible nature (aka sinful nature). We can’t get away from it. Even the “good” we do is tainted with bad…just like a cup of water with a little tiny piece of feces…even if it’s small and in the midst of clean water…no one is gonna drink it! So if we are bound to sin, then it is in our nature to sin and sin we shall! Um, so how can we stop sinning? How can we get the feces out of our water?? Well…we can’t! Unless somehow we can change ourselves into a nature that doesn’t have sin anymore…hmmm. If only there was a way…

Morally we can all agree that there is right and wrong. Thats why we have laws and rules that we follow. No one can say murder is a great amazing thing. We inherently know that murdering someone is wrong. And if someone we love gets killed, we desire justice…naturally. Murder is wrong…wrong things are sin…murder is a sin…wrongs are sins…wrongs need justice…sins need justice. So if we are sinners from birth (if we do wrong things since birth) and we don’t have a way to justify ourself…what can we do? There will be justice waiting for us…aka death…forever. We can’t out-good sin. We can’t add more purified water to the feces water and think it’s clean.

Sounds like we need help right? Help that can only come from someone taking our place that didn’t do anything wrong ever so that we can actually be justified judicially. We need the judge in the courtroom to say “Hey, I know you murdered this guy…I’ll take your justice and let you free. I’ll suffer for you. I’ll take your death penalty. You are free to go.” What! No one would ever do that. No one is gonna take your place for the death penalty.

Well, there is someone…Jesus. He was perfectly sinless and lived and died to take the place of hopeless dead sinners stuck in their nature to give them new life and a NEW NATURE. If ALL your sins (past, present & future) have been paid for and justice has been laid on Jesus’ shoulders…you are no longer bound to your sin nature…there’s no more sin attached to you! Forever! You have a new nature with new desires. Before, you had feces in your water. Now, your water is clean! You have a new nature. You are limited in this way. Yes, yes…you still have sin that you will walk in but all sin that you encounter in your life is covered by Jesus (so your water is still clean!) You are limited in your nature to repent and be sanctified and keep doing good for God’s glory.

And let me be clear…Jesus did NOT die for everyone. He died for his elect. The elect that only HE knows. And he didn’t die for everyone because not everyone will be saved. It wouldn’t be true justice if Jesus died for everyone’s sins but then everyone’s nature didn’t change. It’s like the judge who took the murderer’s place. You would hope that the murderer would be so thankful and never murder anyone ever again. But with no nature change…he will murder again and that judge taking his death penalty died for nothing.

So does God love you? Generally, God loves his creation and people made in His image…but nah mate, if your nature isn’t changed, you truly don’t have any hope that God loves you. In fact, your prayers are an abomination. You’re tainted with sin and God does not and cannot be in the presence of sin. That is why, when we get our new nature, we can have beautiful communion with God. But until then, I would be fearful. Not everyone will be saved and God will send the people who don’t look like him to hell to burn forever and torment. No sugar coating out here. It’s for real. If you don’t believe, you will perish.

So what can you do? Repent and turn from your evil ways and believe that Jesus is Lord and he will make you born again into a new God-glorifying, pure nature.

So what’s my why? A new nature in me to give God all the glory is my why. He put desires in my heart, gifts in my mind through my hands to express with color and shape the things HE wants people to see and be blessed with. My hands are a vessel to bless others and to PRAISE the LORD!

Do I care about worldly success? Do I care how many pieces of art I sell? Do I care if my artwork is accepted? Do I care how many followers I have? Do I count anything in this world as success? “Everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” Philippians 3:8 !!!