Here’s a painting that stared off with a weird concept: paint Jesus at about age 12. I’ve never seen anyone do that before, so I went with an idea that he’s looking up to God as His father. He always looked to his father to know his true identity. I splattered some red paint across the top (half thinking I was going to totally mess this work up once the red hit the canvas), but the red ended up forming a shape similar to a crown. Someone told me it looks like a crown of thorns. I think of this as a young Jesus looking at his father to know his true identity and also being fully aware that his life was always meant to end in sacrifice. What a wild thought to think of a 12 year old Jesus completely aware that the life he lived would inevitably end with his suffering on the cross. Knowing this, he still pressed forward to save us all. That’s a heavy burden for anyone to carry and it’s the burden he willingly took on for me and for you.