Spirituality Column #811

May 31, 2022

Common Christianity / Uncommon Commentary

Varvel’s Gift

By Bob Walters

“… and He has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, with intelligence, with knowledge, and with all craftsmanship,” – Exodus 35:31

Yeah, I know … that’s a little over the top and I don’t want Gary’s face to get red, but there are among us those who God has gifted with unique talent for seeing and communicating God’s truth to the world.

And I think syndicated cartoonist Gary Varvel is one of those folks.

If you are a regular reader of this weekly Common Christianity post with any level of faith and cultural agreement, my guess is you probably already know and have like-minded affection for Gary’s work.  In faith it is solidly Christian, in politics solidly Conservative, and in opinion solidly fearless.

Gary is never profane or mean; he relentlessly plies his editorial eye and artist’s virtuosity to point out the truth and pick away at lies.  He can dependably discern and draw the difference of what helps humanity and what hurts it.  If you know what to look for in Gary’s work, you’ll notice God, Jesus, Spirit, and faith inform everything he does.

After leaving the Indianapolis Star a few years ago – Gary never did seem like an easy “fit” with Gannett media’s far-left, non-God journalistic slant – Gary is busier than ever drawing multiple times every week.  And he’s freer now to draw what he truly sees.

Gary’s work appears in many national news sites I follow, as it has for years, and he is busy on the political and Christian speaking circuits with his entertaining, informative, and thought-provoking “takes,” observations, and extemporaneous drawing.

What Gary does that I really can’t do is offer pithy, succinct, one-picture-says-ten-thousand-words, political and cultural commentary.  I’m no artist, and my commentary rarely strays into the political.  As a visual artist and editorialist, Gary’s one of the “big dogs” in American media and a fine Christian brother to boot.

I bring all this up because I’m an enthusiastic, paying annual subscriber to Gary’s weekly online newsletter “Views from the Right,” and he’s currently in “growth mode.”   The newsletter is both the first place to see Gary’s latest drawings, and includes an easily navigable and solidly sane multi-source compendium of news briefs and opinion that tend to resonate with my interests and inform my concerns. 

In addition to his drawing, Gary’s an accomplished writer who picks through the biggest issues of the day and brings them to life in the strong light of Bible commentary.  Gary loves Christ, his family, America, knows the Bible back to front, and his 30-plus years of editorial experience lend salient and entertaining perspective to the crazy world around us.  He’s an author and film producer, and teaches art at a Christian school.

But enough of my pitch; join in!  Gary’s store site is here, then click Subscription.

His is a voice – and a pen – that enriches the American conversation.

Walters (rlwcom@aol.com) notes that Gary and his many enterprises are easy to find at GaryVarvel.com. Other news and commentary sites to which Walters happily donates or pays subscriptions fees include PatriotPost.US, TheEpochTimes.com, WSJ.com, and for dependable daily chuckles, BabylonBee.com.