The Painter Who Lived Under a Bridge
If you have driven between London and Southend along the A127 over the years you may well have seen, and passed, a man travelling alone in one direction or other. He spent a lot of time travelling up and down that road and around the Romford area - but on foot.
I remember seeing him often, walking along beside that busy road, as we headed out to visit my aunt and uncle in Stanford-le-hope. He had set up his home under a flyover and if you lived in, or around, the Essex area in the 70s or 80s you would have probably heard of Peter the Painter fondly remembered by many as the Nomadic painter roaming the area, with his paintings. As children, we always just saw him as the tramp that walked the Southend Arterial Road. Sadly, Peter died in the 80s aged 67.
He was not born into poverty or homelessness but as one of four children in a family in Norwich. When the family moved to Essex, Peter joined the Merchant Navy, following in the footsteps of his father, grandfather, and great grandfather before him. His father retired as a Lieutenant Commander and MBE holder.
Peter decided that the navy was not the life for him, and following the failure of his marriage, he decided to take to the road. He was famously known for his naïve style of paintings of ships, simply painted onto cardboard. This local character, remembered as a real gentleman by many made his home beneath one of the many flyovers along his often-walked route between Romford and East London.
Many would offer him money enough to buy a meal when walking the route to the local Market with his paintings and each winter he would find a place to be in the warm, but always returned to his bin beneath the flyover. He was remembered as saying that all he wanted to do, was to live for a long time but, sadly death still came.
In the Bible, Jesus paints a very clear picture of what He offers us when we die. He offers us everlasting life - life eternal. And that does last a long time. Those who receive it will live forever with Jesus in Heaven. Revelation 21:4 says: “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”
What a promise that is to all who trust in Jesus.
We simply do not know how Peter finished his life, (God knows) but we do know that we can have the assurance of everlasting life as we put our faith and trust in the finished work of Jesus, who paid the price for our sin when He died on the cross and rose again to life on what we now remember as Easter Sunday.
With all of your wandering and travelling throughout life and the certain fact that death comes to us all – come now, as you are to Jesus, and know His promise of eternal life.