A Change of Heart

I have been taking an institute class on Elder Anderson's book The Divine Gift if Forgiveness. I did a project for the class, and wanted to share it here too.


 

This drawing is titled “A Change of Heart”. I imagine that the hard, dark, broken heart is mine and it lives in the blackness of a sorrowing, lost soul. But, I have invited in the soft, light, whole heart of Christ. His heart replaces mine, and His light fills the darkness.

As I was contemplating this project and what to draw, I was inspired by three passages.

The first is the quote by CS Lewis in chapter 10 of The Divine Gift of Forgiveness. “Christ says 'Give me all. I don’t want so much of your time and so much of your money and so much of your work. I want You...No half measures are any good. I don’t want to cut off a branch here and a branch there, I want to have the whole tree down...Hand over the whole natural self, all the desires which you think innocent as well as the ones you think wicked—the whole outfit. I will give you a new self instead. In fact, I will give you Myself: my own will shall become yours.”  I imagine myself handing my dark, hardened, broken heart to Christ, and Him handing His light, soft, perfect (meaning whole, or complete) heart to me.

The second is Matthew 11:28-30 “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Our hearts are heavy with the weight of our sins and the darkness of the world. His is light in humility, patience and love.

The third passage is John 1:5 “And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” The darkness cannot comprehend the light, but it must flee before it. The light of Christ's forgiveness and love dispels the darkness. If we embrace it, that light grows and expands until it fills our whole souls.


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