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"Crayons" by Jae Jin: Why God Treasures Your Scribbles


What if your scribbles matter more than masterpieces?

Picture a Crayola box holding 8.3 million crayons. Jae Jin does, and he sees us in that picture: every shade different, every one needed, every line counts. Years of making art taught him something surprising: “the expert brushstrokes of Picasso may not necessarily move someone more than the stream-of-consciousness scribbles of crayons done by a 5-year-old.”

So why do so many people stop drawing?

Jae Jin - Crayons“Crayons” by Jae Jin opens with someone “settling a score with the world” using “a fistful of crayons, instead of a sword.” Then comes the hard part: “the moment I sense that they see me is the moment I run out the door.” Is that urge familiar? Being seen can feel pretty risky, so you hide the colors you were given.

Notice how something small can trigger something big… “The moment I chose to see You was the moment I was moving ahead.” Read that again… who changes first? Not the world. The artist, once he looks up at God. The same applies to you and me. We change when we choose to see God.

Jesus says the same thing in Matthew 18:3: “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Children don’t audition for love. They run to it, wide-eyed and sticky-fingered, knowing for sure that they belong.

Jae’s song emphasizes that even when your canvas feels cracked or gray, “the broken ones [crayons] still color the same.” 

Try this today: pick one ordinary moment and meet it with wonder. Watch the light on your kitchen wall. Thank God out loud for it. Skip trying to color-by-numbers to grow your faith and let your colors stray.

Give “Crayons” a listen and let the chorus sink in. Hear it, then sing it. “The things that I couldn’t see but had in my heart. They were lost, but now I’m found”

(Related scripture: Matthew 18:3; Luke 15:24; Psalm 139:14)

Background:

We're all very much like crayons in a gigantic box (Can you imagine seeing a Crayola box of 8.3 million crayons?). As I grow older as an artist, I've come to realize that the expert brushstrokes of Picasso may not necessarily move someone more than the stream-of-consciousness scribbles of crayons done by a 5-year-old. I think what the world needs more than ever is for each of us to find a way, despite how difficult the world makes it, to return to having a childlike faith. To just be a kid in every moment… to be filled with wonder and excitement as we were when we were young.

Release date: October 16, 2026

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