The Canvas of Life

Verses:

Ephesians 5:1: Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.

Psalm 17:15: As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness.

Hebrews 12:1-2: Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God [Emphasis Added].

Thoughts:

The process of creating art reflects the process of life. For this blog, I’m going to reference oil painting specifically (If you know me, I love to paint!).

There are some questions you want to train yourself to ask when you analyze your painting as you work: 

What is my focal point? Does my painting look right? Does it look like the picture? What is wrong with it? What is bothering me?

In the process of creating, you constantly break down what you’ve done, and think through how to improve it, all while building upon it.

God is our creator, and in a sense we are works of art (Eph.2:10). We are the creative artists of our life, and each day we get to paint the canvas for that day.

It is so cool to ponder that you have control over who you want to be. Every day is an experiment where you get to test if something does or doesn’t work for you. Every day you get to improve and challenge yourself to grow. And, just like in life, we do this with each artwork. 

So I encourage you to apply the same questions used for painting to your life, whether it be day to day or more broadly (I highly encourage both)!

First, think through what the focal point of your life is. Ask yourself: “What is my focal point today,” or, “What has this month been focused on?" We are called to glorify God in all that we do. Therefore, everything in your life should be a “supporting piece” to that main focus.

We are called to be images of Christ; therefore, to actually be accurate we have to constantly reference the source material. You can’t expect to make an accurate drawing of something if you aren’t looking at it carefully. Therefore, we need to be reading and studying the scriptures so that our lives are accurate artworks of God’s word.

Next, as we are living day to day, we can review and analyze what we have “put on the canvas” of our lives. Ask those other questions I mentioned earlier: Does this look right? Does it look like the picture? What is wrong with it? What is bothering me? What do I need to change to make it more beautiful?

By God’s grace, our consciences are often a key helper in the moment to tweak any “issues” that arise. But, we still must practice “constant vigilance” (thank you imposter Mad-Eye Moody) in protecting our minds and hearts.

Ultimately, seek to cultivate your godly eye. Train your artistic eye to view your life in the way that God would, so that you can see what is truly beautiful and right, and prune that which is ugly. Pray that He might open your eyes to see the life that is beautiful and give you the discipline to live it.

Summary: Life, like art, is a process of analytical and emotional creation. Apply those questions of artistic creation to better cultivate a life of truth, beauty, and goodness for our Lord and Maker.

Ask Yourself: Is my life beautiful in God’s eyes?  What specific things am I doing that is making it less beautiful? How might I better know the source material so that I can more accurately portray Christ?

Verses for further pondering:

Galatians 2:20

Romans 12:2

1 John 2:6

Romans 8:29

1 John 3:2

#35

8 May 2026