"For all of you are children of the light and children of the day. We are not of the night or of darkness. Therefore, let us not sleep as the rest do, but let us stay alert and sober."
-1 Thessalonians 5:5-6
We were created by the Light of the World as His children and to live in the Light. However, we can sometimes act contrary to this truth by working in the dark and exhibiting behaviors that are not of God. Since we can find ourselves in the dark, we become blind to the Truth and spiritually fall asleep when we ought to be alert and on our guards. Yet we are not nocturnal beings- say, like moths- who rest during the day and work during the night.
This drawing attempts to depict the reality that we do not belong to the darkness. This girl is engulfed in a cloud of darkness and is framed by dry leaves due to the lack of life within her. Moths fly towards her in an attempt to wake her up, with one even trying to open an eyelid. They are trying to tell her that she is not like them- she was not made to live at night as they do, for she is marked with Christ. This indelible sign is the golden cross on her forehead, which symbolizes her belonging to God and serves as the proof that she is indeed a child of the Light. I have also received an outside perspective state that the moths may be approaching her because moths are naturally attracted to the light- and she is of the Light. I admire this view, as we certainly ought to attract others because of the Light that is within us and be the ones radiating It to those still asleep in the dark. Note, though creatures of the dark will not realistically be the ones waking us up or bringing to our attention Whom we actually belong to, the selection of moths for this role is simply an artistic, playful, and storylike twist to the underlying message.
watercolor, colored pencil, & ink on paper
29.5 x 23.5 in (framed)
2018
$625 (framed)