Jesus Saves

"Jesus Saves"

48" x 36", acrylic and pastel on canvas

A few months ago while having a drink at the Glenwood looking for a new subject to paint, I was uninspired. I was thinking of the Chicago L painting I had finished last year. I was thinking of the spiritual in the every day. How the spiritual and the infinite are always present. How the Chicago L could suggest an infinity. I was thinking of my past Christian life. I was thinking of my present non-Christian life. I was thinking of my then and now. I was thinking of the differences between peoples' perceptions of the very same thing. How can the Chicago L both be rust and decay to one passerby and a forever to another? I was thinking of how my own perceptions of the very same things, the sacred and the profane, have changed over time.

Then a friend sharing a drink with me listened and suggested painting the "Jesus Saves" sign at the Philadelphia Church in Chicago's northside Andersonville neighborhood. I was inspired. I have known of the existence of this sign for close to twenty years. It has never been just a sign to me. At one point in my life I thought, "Yeah! That's the way it's done. Get the Word out. Preach it." Even if it is with neon and broken bulb. The sign is a voice in the wilderness with its gospel, a John the Baptist of neon and broken bulb. Now however I see the sign from a prodigal's point of view. Even as the sign continues to exhort so does the 7-Eleven sign, the street lamps, traffic lights and headlights as well. Jesus Saves is now a voice competing with many others.

And then I wonder, is there such a thing as truth? Is there such a thing as absolute? Is there such a thing as good and bad when we all hold both within us? Things are not so easy and black and white. Things are not so clear. There are many differing messages around us. There are many different colors. Which one voice should each one of us listen to? Is God trying to tell me something?