For to Such Belongs the Kingdom of God

 "And He took them in His arms and blessed them, laying His hands upon them."

In His Arms

Yet another failed attempt at illustrating the 10th chapter, verses 13 through 16 of the Gospel according to Mark. Ah well... maybe someday.

"And they were bringing children to Him, that He might touch them; and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it He was indignant, and said the them, 'Let the children come to me, do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.' And He took them in His arms and blessed them, laying His hands upon them."

Child and Toy

There's nothing to this: there is neither theme nor story behind this image. It's just a quick and simple drawing of a child who could be from about any time period, yesterday, today or tomorrow, since, albeit a child is always changing, children remain constant. And that's yet another reason why this old world remains so constantly beautiful.

Christ and Child

Kathy and Sarah do not care for this piece. Their criticisms start with how awful the baby looks and then spread out from there to the very edges of the paper. I was fully aware of some of the image's weaknesses while working on it, but I'm stunned to see an additional million-and-one mistakes suddenly revealed in reproduction. Yet, in my defense, if one starts correcting all of one's errors, then at the end of one's life there will be nothing left but an overused kneaded eraser and the faulty memory of a paper that long ago disintegrated beneath countless erasures and layers of frantic redrawing. Life is short and one has to decide what to cling to and what to let go. For a heavy-handed and moralizing example, wouldn't it be pathetic to waste a life fiercely clinging to passion yet abandoning compassion, to being swallowed whole in a crazy emotional maelstrom caused by transitory events and silly ego, to be "full of sound and fury, signifying nothing" while rejecting that which is our eternal birthright: things sublime and noble? Wouldn't it be sad to think so little of ourselves that we give up on being humble, merciful, sacrificing, forbearing, forgiving and loving for... for what? Someone else still loves us despite and through all our failings. Maybe someday we'll grow up enough to be guided more by Him than by our own spleen.