What Comes After?
After art?
After life?
This is the second letter is a three-part series where we explore:
Q 1. Why are we here?
Q 2. Why is it so hard to be here (and make art)?
Q 3. And what comes after? (The Antidote to Hard)
In the last letter, we confronted the challenges of life and art, focusing on resistance. I promised you an antidote, and today I want to reveal that it’s simpler than we think. In fact, it might just make you forget that life is hard.
The Antidote to Hard: Reward.
Ok, allow me to build this thought.
James 4:7 tells us: “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
Notice that submission comes before resistance. We don’t have to rely on our strength to push through life’s challenges—we have the full power of the Holy Spirit and the authority of God on our side.
Resistance knows when we’re working in our own strength versus God's strength. That can also be said as working in ‘our will’ versus ‘Gods will for us’.
Imagine a young boy standing alone before a large army, confidently declaring he will defeat them. The soldiers would laugh, unfazed by his words, seeing only his small frame and empty threat.
But now picture the boy with the entire army of the King suddenly appearing behind him. The mood shifts. The soldiers stop laughing, realizing this boy isn’t relying on his own strength, but speaking with the authority of the King’s powerful forces standing behind him.
This is the power of submission—it’s not about a distant authority figure ordering us around but a loving King who longs for us to recognize who we truly are.
When we align our will with His, all His power, His armies, His wealth, and His wisdom stand with us in resistance. This is why the devil flees, not from us, but from the Kingdom standing behind us.
Why We Keep Pushing
So why does the enemy try to stop us? Why is there resistance in the first place? The answer is simple: The reward. The eternal perspective.
Oftentimes we get so caught up in our earthly lives that we forget we aren’t even from earth. We are aliens here.
“For this world is not our home, we are looking forward to our everlasting home in heaven.” - Hebrews 13:14-16
One day, not long from now, we will stand before God and give account of our life, yes even believers will take part in judgment day. Here are a few scriptures that mention this:
“You, then why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat.” Romans 14:10
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“God will bring every act to judgment.” - Ecclesiastes 12:14
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“But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value. If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames.” - 1 Corinthians 3:13-15
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“…judge the dead, and reward His servants….” - Revelation 11:18
The great news is that if you believe in your heart and confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord and raised from the dead than your salvation is secure. Our works will be judged for reward rather than eternal punishment.
God plans to reward you justly. This is very exciting and a good thing!
Above art: "The Shadow Where I Hide", Art by Charla, Acrylic + Thread, 2018
The Artist’s Eternal Calling
An eternal perspective is so important for artists!
We’re called to share God with the world through our art, to create for His glory and to bring others to Him through what we make. It’s a powerful calling that we need to protect and chase after with everything we’ve got.
One day, we’ll be asked, “What did you do with what I gave you? Did you follow My lead, or did you go your own way?”
J.R.R. Tolkien’s short story, 'Leaf by Niggle', captures this beautifully. Go and get this book on Amazon today and read it yourself as I cannot retell it as well!
In the story, an artist named Niggle struggles to complete his grand painting of a magnificent tree, pouring meticulous attention into each leaf, yet life’s mundane duties and his desire to help his neighbor, Parish, keep him from finishing it. When Niggle is unexpectedly forced to take a trip for which he isn’t prepared, he ends up in a laborious institution, and his beloved painting is abandoned and largely destroyed, leaving only one perfect leaf displayed in a museum.
However, after his journey, Niggle discovers a beautiful land that brings his artistic vision to life in a way he could never achieve on earth. In this new realm, he reunites with Parish, who has blossomed into a skilled gardener. Together, they cultivate the tree and forest, turning Niggle’s incomplete vision into a stunning reality. The place they create becomes a destination for travelers, illustrating how Niggle’s artistic aspirations found fulfillment and beauty beyond his earthly life.
What inspired me about this story was Niggle followed his desire to create and made it his life's work to bring his vision to life. Then, in what I determined was heaven, Niggle was given a more glorious version of his vision and was able to perfectly complete it. What we do here may not last on earth, but if it’s aligned with God’s will, it holds eternal significance.
I want nothing more than to please my Father. I know that I don’t have to do anything to make Him love me or to earn salvation. But I also know that my works and actions please Him when I do what He asks.
Above image: Working throught the distractions of pets.
Life After Salvation
Is there life after salvation? Yes! That’s why Jesus died to save us! It was to give us life, life on this earth and life everlasting.
At the moment of salvation our slate is wiped clean and we get to live the way God intended. This is when the real fun starts!
As we draw near to God, He reveals Himself to us through His character and commands (James 4:8). Unfortunately, some teachers have reduced this relationship to a set of rules, focusing on behaviors like no smoking or no tattoos. When we do something really bad does that mean we cease to be children of God? Absolutely not. Our identity remains secure in Him (Romans 8:38-39).
Our walk with God is not merely about following rules; it’s about cultivating a willing heart to submit to His authority and guidance. Many biblical figures, like Moses, Abraham, and David, made significant mistakes, yet God still called them friends. Why? Because they approached Him with openness and a desire to obey His will, recognizing that true obedience flows from a heart transformed by His love (Psalm 51:17). When we prioritize our relationship with God and seek to understand His character, our willingness to follow Him becomes the foundation of our faith.
The purpose of this letter is to ignite a passion within you for cultivating an eternal perspective.
This is essential because when you have a clear purpose—something you are genuinely striving for and dedicated to—you approach your work with fervor and determination, stopping at nothing to reach your finish line.
“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,.” - Hebrews 12:1
The great cloud of witnesses are those that went before us and are watching to see how we carry the baton in our own race. We have the power to not be ensnared by earthly temptations that ensnare us and keep us from our callings and our rewards.
Paul also says in Philippians 3:14,
“I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.”
Light the Spark
I’ve given up before when things got hard. I’ve laid aside unfinished projects and I’ve stopped going to the gym. I lost sight of the goal or maybe the goal wasn’t important enough to me.
There have been other times when I thought I didn’t have any more give, like getting up time and again in the middle of the night when my kids were little, but I still got up. It was hard but I did it because my love and concern for my kids was greater than my desire to quit and sleep.
As an artist and a follower of Jesus where do you have your sights set? Do you just want to make a sale or get accolades on social media? Or are your sights set further?
My sights are set on showing God’s glory to the world. I want my sights set on the finish line of heaven and finally standing before my God. When I see Him face to face I want him to be well pleased. Not just a little pleased, but well pleased. I want Him to call me good and faithful servant. I want Him to call me close friend.
➵ The greatest reward is Him.
So, the antidote for the struggles and distractions that pull us away from Him and our art is to keep our eyes on the finish line. After all, this life is but a vapor and just as my kids grew up fast and now my nights are peaceful, one day I’ll finish the race and hope to hear Him to say,
‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’ - Matthew 25:21
Lets go make art!
Stay Bold, 
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