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Survivor 12 x 36" , mixed media on stretched paper.
A legacy is anything handed down from an ancestor. I am very grateful for the legacy of Scripture which has survived for over 1,000 years in various forms. Today, we use a form of the Codex, a bound book of sacred pages. In my research, I found some astounding facts about this remarkable book, The Bible: it is the most widely circulated of all written works, has affected the culture, language and art of more people than any other book and has been published more times than any other text. Beginning from the 4th Century to now, it has existed as a single entity in a continued and unbroken tradition. It remains the best-selling text across the globe and is the most international of literary texts. 1 It has changed shape from clay tablets to scrolls to magnificently illustrated manuscripts, to the present : a bound book containing 66 books creatively packaged in every imaginable way for every imaginable culture group. The Bible in this painting was rendered from a friend’s Family Bible printed in 1884 by Oxford and handed down from generation to generation and will continue its journey to the next generation. It is a survivor.
While the historical facts are fascinating about the preservation of the Book, I find it the most personal of all books because of the words between the covers. I’d have to agree with C.H. Spurgeon: “He who has once got fairly into the Scriptures can never leave them. The book holds you as magnet holds a needle, or as a flower holds a bee. If you want great thoughts, read your Bible.” 2
The Book is not only for great thoughts. I painted this Book as a reminder to me of the power it holds. Precisely, Hebrews 4:12 states ”it is living, active and sharper than any double-sided sword and penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” Furthermore, as stated in 2 Timothy 3:14-17; “All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
To comprehend I can hold that much power in my hands without censorship or fear of being persecuted is incomparable. I pray I will never take the Scriptures for granted and I promise to pass them on to the next generation as a sacred legacy that promises to survive forever. 3
1 The Book. A History of the Bible, Christopher de Hamel, intro cover, intro p X, p. 12 2 Explore the Book, J. Sidlow Baxter, the Book of Joshua (i), p. 236 3 1 Peter 1:25
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