An Artist’s Journey

artist

Vietnam veteran Roger Blum served as a combat artist. He remembers “painting combat scenes was not relaxing. It was intense and personal.” His job required him to look hard at the results of combat. He fights back tears even today when he thinks of those who died. He admits that his trust in God at the time amounted to making sure to stand next to someone with a machine gun.

Then he met another combat artist who was a Christian. Blum was amazed at the Christian’s visible happiness and freedom in Christ. The encounter with the Christian artist led him to examine his own faith. After the war, he attended a neighbor’s Church and fell in love with Christ. He now paints wildlife and landscapes that show God’s creative glory (Dierberger, Sharon, “Portrait of a Christian Artist,” World Magazine, April 27, 2019, 61).

The story of Roger Blum serves as a blueprint for the transformation that we experience when we encounter Christ. Without Christ, the world and our own perspective focus on the tragedies, the battles, the hardships of life. That is what we picture most in our minds. But with Christ, those tough things are not our focus. Instead, we look to what is beautiful around us. We picture most in our minds what brings God glory. Take time to examine the world through the eyes of Christ to find compassion, grace, love and hope. Share the vision of Christ with others and put it on full display for all to see. That is the art of the Christian perspective.

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