Joyful ‘toons Blog

My cartoon for May 17, 2009, titled “Strike It Rich”, is one that I have had on my computer hard drive for a couple of years, at least. I don’t know if I still have the original sketch on paper or not. Fortunately, I had scanned it and saved it on my computer. It depicted a prospector from the American old west who is dancing with joy over a gold nugget he has found while digging in his mine.

The original "Strike It Rich" sketch

I guess I have heard several Bible teachers and preachers use the metaphor of mining to refer to Bible study. Phrases such as “digging for nuggets of truth in the Word of God” were the inspiration for the original sketch. But when I finally got around to finishing the cartoon, I looked for some verse in the Bible that used this particular metaphor, but couldn’t find one. The only passage I could find that spoke about mining was in the book of Job, chapter 28.

Even though I couldn’t find a specific verse that referred to the Word of God as a mine, I still think it is a valid illustration. The verse I did use, from Proverbs, Chapter 2, verses 4 & 5, speaks of searching for wisdom and understanding as you would look for silver or search for hidden treasure.

This idea of searching for the truth, of seeking for God, is found throughout the Bible. Deuteronomy 4:29 says But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul; Proverbs 25:2 says It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings; and Act 17:27 says God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. There are many other verses that speak about seeking the Lord.

I think it is an interesting idea that God wants us to look for Him. He is, in a way, hiding from us - not because he doesn’t want to be found, but because he wants us to seek him. One way that we can search for God is to read and study His Word, the Bible. In the finished cartoon I changed the pick into a shovel, to make it easier to write the word “study” on it. And I added the other two old west characters to provide a commentary on the prospector. I hope the cartoon will be a reminder and an inspiration to Christians to spend time reading and studying the Bible. And maybe it can be an inspiration to those who don’t know the Lord to seek Him.

The finished cartoon

I made a slight revision to my cartoon “Rescue ‘copter”. The cartoon shows two men camping in a forest. A sign lets us know that it is “Sin Forest”. In the distance we can see a raging fire. It is burning up the forest and heading toward the campers. The fire represents God’s judgment against sin. Hovering over the men is a helicopter which has let down a ladder for the men to climb up and escape the coming fire. The helicopter represents God’s mercy to mankind, which He made available through the death and resurrection of Jesus. I suppose I could’ve labeled the ladder “Faith”. One man is urgently climbing the ladder, while the other man seems oblivious to the approaching danger. When I drew this cartoon, I was thinking about how our God is a God of justice, and also a God of mercy.

The original "Rescue 'copter"

In my original cartoon, the helicopter had a red cross painted on the side of it. I became a little concerned that the red cross might be mistaken for the symbol of the Red Cross, the organization that provides help for people in disasters. I think the Red Cross is a fine organization, but it is not what I intended the helicopter to represent. So in my revised cartoon, I changed the cross to look more like the cross of Jesus.

The revised "Rescue 'copter"

My cartoon titled “Peace Rock” has been on the website since August of 2007, but it is older than that. It is one of the cartoons that were hidden under the bed in our guest bedroom. It is taken from John 16:33. Jesus is speaking to His disciples and says: I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world (NIV). That’s a wonderful verse to remember as we go through these troubled times. My cartoon depicts a distraught looking man in a little boat that has sprung a leak. The boat is labeled “worry” and is adrift in a raging sea labeled “trouble”. Next to the boat is a big rock labeled “peace”. The waves are tossing the boat around, but has no effect on the rock. Another man, standing on the rock, calls out to the man in the boat, inviting him to “…abandon that leaky ol’ boat and climb up on this rock”.

The original "Peace Rock" cartoon

At times I would come across this cartoon and think that it wasn’t quite right, somehow. Maybe it was a little too vague. Yes, we as Christians can have peace in the midst of this troubled world, but how? In the verse Jesus says in me you may have peace and I have overcome the world.  If we remain in Jesus we may have peace, because he has overcome the world. So, I began to think that the cartoon might have a greater impact if the rock were labeled “Jesus”, instead of “peace”. Like the rock in the cartoon, the waves of trouble in this world do not move Jesus, nor will they move us if we keep our faith in Him. But, if we get out of faith in Him, and into fear and worry, then we are like the guy in the leaky boat. So today I went ahead and made the revision, and I think the cartoon is much improved. It is now clearly focused on Jesus, as it should be. I also tried to give the rock a more “rocky” texture. I’m not sure, but I think it looks OK.

The revised "Peace Rock" cartoon