"From Everlasting to Everlasting / Von Ewigkeit zu Ewigkeit" // Original painting on canvas, 22"x28"
Title: "From Everlasting to Everlasting / Von Ewigkeit zu Ewigkeit" (2025)
Medium:Acrylic ink, marble dust, acrylic, gold foil, and copper foil on canvas
Size: 22"x28"x1.5"
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We invest now in a future that cannot be destroyed or taken away
But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in and steal.
—Matthew 6:20
Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord shines over you.
For look, darkness will cover the earth,
and total darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will shine over you,
and his glory will appear over you.
Nations will come to your light,
and kings to your shining brightness.
—Isaiah 60:1-3
Meanwhile, Moses was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. Then the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire within a bush. As Moses looked, he saw that the bush was on fire but was not consumed. So Moses thought, “I must go over and look at this remarkable sight. Why isn’t the bush burning up?”
—Exodus 3:1-3
Therefore we do not give up. Even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person is being renewed day by day. For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory. So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
—2 Corinthians 4:16-18
Many of us have doubts or questions about God, but they often feel like background noise—something we should deal with tomorrow (if ever). We are often distracted by the material world that is right in front of us, ignoring the unseen realm, which is as real and important as physical matter. For all that is uncertain or intangible in life, we do have certainty that we will all one day die, and our earthly life will end—all this incessant activity and material of our everyday life will not be something we can take with us. As Friedrich Schiller says in his poem, Nänie, “even beauty must perish…behold!...the gods weep, the goddesses weep, that the beautiful perishes, that the perfect must pass away.”
And yet, it says in Hebrews 13: for here, we have no enduring city, but we seek one to come. Isaiah 60 paints a portrait of that enduring city. Later, in 1 Corinthians 15:51-55, Paul imagines our finite bodies being made infinite:
Listen, I am telling you a mystery: We will not all fall asleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed. For this corruptible body must be clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal body must be clothed with immortality. When this corruptible body is clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal body is clothed with immortality, then the saying that is written will take place:
Death has been swallowed up in victory.
Where, death, is your victory?
Where, death, is your sting?
Matthew 6:20 reminds us that all will experience the resurrection of the dead, and there will be certain things we carry with us into eternity. This life does matter, and though this present moment is passing away, there are investments we make now that are eternal. Scripture shows us that these investments are collective and relational (involving cities), and they are personal and physical (involving individual bodies which are united to immortal souls). The shortness of this statement from Jesus is provocative, and it invites us all to ask ourselves what lasts into eternity when we consider all the thousands of mundane choices we face each and every day.
When you look at your life and all that is important to you, what about it will you be able to carry with you beyond the veil? What forms you and your soul daily, in small or big ways? If each and every person carries what Paul calls an eternal weight of glory, what are you carrying, and how is it forming you and those around you?
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ARTWORK INFORMATON
Original canvas collage painting in yellow, orange, red, purple, green, blue, and gold.
All artwork is signed on the back. Can be signed on the front at collector's request.
Keep in mind that paintings can look slightly different in person. I paint using a lot of texture, so they are even better when you can see them in person - it is hard to capture here!
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COPYRIGHT
Artwork is protected by copyright. All images displayed are property of Kelly Kruse. The sale of original artwork does not include the sale of copyright, including rights to reproduce or license imagery. All rights reserved.
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SHIPPING & HANDLING
Shipping for this listing is for contiguous US States and will be fulfilled via USPS or FedEx ground within the US.
I will gladly reduce prices for combined shipping! Please contact me and let me know which paintings you want shipped together and I can give you a quote and then adjust the shipping amount on the painting listings.
I will ship internationally. Please contact me if you want to make a purchase so that I can let you know how much it will cost you to ship. If you do decide to go ahead and buy, I will then change my listing so that it allows you to do so. International buyers are responsible for any duty relative fees and UPS broker fees. I will not mark your package as 'gift' in order for you to avoid the duty fees.
The shipping price in this listing is for the contiguous US only. ALASKA and HAWAII will cost more. Please contact me first for a shipping quote before you purchase so that I can adjust the cost on the listing. Thank you.