This painting was inspired by a biblical truth I have been meditating on lately about freedom in Christ and something new I have learned from it recently. The Bible says:
“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.”
ESV, Romans 8:1-2
This Bible verse describes a wonderful truth that if you have accepted Jesus into your heart as your Lord and Savior, you are set free from sin. You are a new creation in Christ, and your old nature doesn’t have a hold on you anymore because the Holy Spirit empowers you to overcome the temptation to sin.
It’s important, however, to balance this truth with what the Bible says in 1 Peter:
“Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.”
ESV, 1 Peter 2:16
We should not use our freedom in Christ as an excuse to continue living in sin. That’s not what freedom in Christ means. I always like to think of a story from the Old Testament about Gomer and Hosea to illustrate this truth.
Gomer was a prostitute. Yet God told Hosea to marry her and would later use their love story to illustrate God’s relationship with His people. So, Hosea married Gomer, but she was unfaithful to him and had many lovers. But God told Hosea to go and get his wife back. It got so bad that Hosea had to buy Gomer out of slavery. He did it out of love to set her free. In the same way, God has paid a price by dying on the cross for our sins so that everyone who believes in Him will be saved and receive freedom from the power of sin.
This truth has also given me a fresh perspective when I thought of it in combination with Psalm 37:4. The Bible says:
“Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”
ESV, Psalm 37:4
This verse doesn’t mean that God will give us everything we want and dream of. What this verse does mean is that if we spend time in God’s presence, praying and reading His word on a regular basis, then God will change our wants. We will no longer be consumed with worldly things and instead, our minds will be renewed to become more aligned with God’s will for our lives. The Bible says:
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
NIV, Romans 12:2
If we spend time reading the Bible daily, then our thinking will be transformed and it will be easier for us to discern God’s will, both by testing it against Scripture and by knowing God’s heart better.
What’s cool about this truth is that if we find ourselves getting inspired to create a piece of art or music, and we have been delighting in the Lord, and it aligns with the Bible, then we have the freedom to pursue it. We don’t have to wait for a sign from heaven telling us this is the exact project God wants us to pursue. We don’t have to be worried and paralyzed in indecision. As long as it aligns with the Bible and you are in the right relationship with the Lord, then you are free to create that piece of art that God put on your heart.
I would often be worried whether an art idea came from God or from myself. But the truth is, it’s okay if it’s both, as long as it doesn’t contradict Scripture. I have the freedom to create what I feel led to create. And God can use my imperfect ability to hear from Him to create something beautiful for His glory. I find that God likes to use unique skills and personality traits of different people to communicate God’s truth through them.
While we can be inspired by God, our work is not inspired in the same way that the Bible was inspired. The Bible is finished. But we can still be inspired by God as we seek to serve and glorify Him. We are not only free from the bondage of sin, but we are also freed and empowered by His Spirit to serve Him.
I decided to paint a horse running freely to not only represent freedom from the bondage of sin, but also to represent the freedom to run the race God called us to run of serving Him with our lives.
You can watch the time-lapse of this painting here:
