Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.
- Titus 2:14
If you’ve ever walked through a rough neighborhood or driven past an abandoned railcar, you’ve seen it. Always colorful, often cryptic, and occasionally vulgar, graffiti has been a staple of the American cityscape since the 1970s. Sometimes sprayed on by bored teenagers, other times by gangs looking to mark their territory, graffiti has normally been seen as a telltale sign of urban blight, an ugly indicator of decline.
But something interesting has started happening over the last few years—what was once considered destruction of property is being newly recognized as art. Graffiti that city officials used to decry as vandalism is now beginning to be appreciated as creativity at work, artists looking for an outlet. Indeed, inspired by figures like the elusive Banksy, some major cities have even actually enlisted those they once would have arrested, commissioning street artists to spray paint graffiti-style murals. Rather than condemning graffiti, they’ve found a way to redeem it.
That’s exactly what Jesus does for those who place their faith in him: he turns ugliness into artistry, sinners into saints. By the grace of God, his death on the cross has ensured that anyone can be cleansed of unrighteousness and given new life.
All of us are born into iniquity, sinners incapable of fellowship with God. But Jesus gave himself on the cross so that we could be more, so that we could know the kind of life God always intended for us. The blood of Jesus made it possible for us to be redeemed from vulgarity to beauty. In Christ, transformation is always possible.
The next time you see graffiti, you’re most likely to dismiss it as petty vandalism. But my encouragement to you is to take a closer look—at what’s on the wall and what’s in your heart. You never know what a good artist will do with some misplaced paint.
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