Have you ever been visiting some historic city on a bright summer’s day, when the weather suddenly changes and it pours down? You spend time dashing in and out of shops and then spot an art gallery and think we can have a look round here until the rain eases up Sometimes, we surprise ourselves by seeing paintings we actually enjoy until we reach a painting by Picasso, which always look a bit strange to me. I remember once seeing one of his paintings in a newspaper entitled, “Reclining Nude,” which was enough to put me off women for some time.

A little lad enjoyed drawing and spent most of his time with his sketch book. His mum went to the paper shop one day and the lad insisted on taking his drawings to show the lady in the shop. His mum bought her newspapers and the boy showed the lady in the shop his latest drawing, “That’s really lovely said the lady, is it a Picasso?” The little lad looked most annoyed and said, “Of course it’s not, it’s a motor car.” I rest my case!

In the early eighteenth century, an artist was walking down a street one day, when he saw a little street urchin with dirty face and ragged clothes playing with his friends and he realised he was seeing a potential masterpiece before his eyes. So approaching the little lad he promised to pay the boy if he would agree to come and sit for him the next day, the lad readily agreed.

The next day the boy arrived with his face washed and wearing borrowed clean clothes that his mother had obtained for him. Totally disappointed, the artist said, “No, No, I can’t draw you looking like this, I wanted you to come just as you were...
And that’s the only way any of us can come to God – just as we are. There’s nothing absolutely nothing we can do to make ourselves more acceptable to Him. Our religious denomination makes no difference, because this is only a label which if you go to heaven, drops off and if you go to hell it burns up. Whether we’re of the highest moral character, or the lowest sinner, the only way into heaven is by believing in Christ, trusting in Him and loving one another.