Life Without

Life Without

by Barbara Eccleston

“Life Without” is a prison term for people who are given a life sentence without the possibility of parole. My husband worked at a maximum security prison before he died. He used to come home and tell me how empty and hopeless most of those inmates’ lives were. The term seems fitting here because this painting is of a life lived without God – there is no yellow glow coming from time spent with the Lord, there are no heavenly blue thoughts or priestly purple deeds.

This ugly horse is imprisoned by his sins; black bars keep freedom out of reach. Everything surrounding this horse is worldly green; his thoughts, his time, and his treasures are all spent on earth-bound pursuits. The orange represents anger, bitterness and resentment – hurtful words drip out of his mouth and hang in the air around him like a destructive wake. The red represents sins of every sort, each one being an affront to the holiness of the Lord.

The black thing in this heart, whatever it is, is simple idolatry. All sin is just that easy to explain. If we wanted Him, we wouldn’t want “that” – whether it is pride, power, passion, prosperity, or privilege. It all comes down to a life without the Lord Jesus Christ and something black is sitting on the throne of this heart instead of Him.

Choosing a life without Jesus is choosing a life without the possibility of parole. Sin reigns relentlessly and the consequence is eternal. However, unlike those prison inmates my husband spoke of, the prison bars that hold this horse have but one key: the cross of Calvary. The Lord Jesus is always ready and always willing to pardon and to save.