Self-Portrait

My 4th grade art teacher didn’t like me very much. Before I continue…it’s important to note that in elementary school; I was the kid who lived for gym class and despised art class. I used to dread going to school on the days that art class was the elective because I knew I would have to waste my time sitting in a dark room drawing or painting something. All I could normally think about was dodgeball, kickball, basketball, etc. As the eventual 5th grade kickball home run champion (I kicked 49 home runs in recess in the 5th grade), it’s safe to say that art class and I did not go together very well. To be fair, my art teacher wasn’t the nicest person. She actually didn’t let me participate in class sometimes because she always said my work was too sloppy. Nevertheless, I was a rule follower and a good student, so as much as I dreaded participating (including her often not wanting me to participate), I always tried.

The picture for today’s devotional is the finished product of my self-portrait from 2004. To this day, I still say this painting is some of my best artwork EVER (my mom even has it framed)! I have pretty good memories of my art teacher not really liking anything I did in her class, but for whatever reason, I was proud of this work of art! Reflecting back on this, I think I now know why I like my self-portrait so much.

Genesis 1:27 says, “God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” In life, there will be people who like the things we do, and there will be people who never like anything we do. We shouldn’t live our lives trying to please other people because God made us exactly the way He wanted. When we truly understand that we were made in God’s image, we can appreciate everything about ourselves. I like my self-portrait because I am who God says I am. No form of art can change God’s work of art!

-Jacob

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