Visual Exegesis: The Life of Every Living Thing

Chris Powers of Full of Eyes creates exegetical art, still and moving images, intended to point people to the beauty of God in the crucified and risen Son. His work can be found on Youtube, Patreon, and his website, fullofeyes.com. There are study guides to accompany the videos, tracts, and art- free to use for the edification of the global church and the exaltation of Jesus' name. 

Today's presentation is called The Life of Every Living Thing. Below Powers' illustration is the artist's statement.

Job 12:10, "In His hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind." 

It was tough to come up with a verse picture today. I spent most of my time reading this morning in Genesis considering some of the patterns we see in the Creation week....some wonderful stuff there, but nothing that seemed to lend itself to a picture. I also read a bit in Job and came across 12:10.....I was hesitant to make the picture that I did because it is similar to another that I did a few months ago, but--since I try to get these done early without spending TOO much time on them, I went ahead with this design. 

I'm also studying the "hypostatic union" right now (the orthodox understanding of Christ as one Person--God the Son--with two natures--divine and human) for a Wednesday night class I teach at our local church....that's got me thinking about some more of the glorious realities we see in Christ....one of which is that He--as God the Son--is sustaining the universe ("in His hand is the life of every living thing...") even as His hands are pierced and His creaturely life ebbs away. It's an "old" truth but one that ought always to stagger....the sovereign mingling of omnipotence and helplessness that we see at the cross is unlike anything the world can produce and a self-authenticating witness to the beauty of God's Name. 

So, I hope that this picture echoes both the idea that the God-Man upheld the life of the universe with His hands even as His flesh was pierced on the cross AND that, the piercing of His hands was also the means by which He purchased the life that He was upholding. All created life--at least all terrestrial life--would rightly have been extinguished because of sin had not the wrath a ten thousand justly-deserved Noahic floods been stored up to be poured on on the Beloved Son at Calvary.