Art as wisdom, worship and obedience
Since art is woven into my being from my earliest memories, here are a few thoughts about the significance and value of art. They are in no particular order. I share them with you for purposes of encouragement and for God’s glory. Maybe you would not describe yourself as artistic but everything that I will say applies to art appreciation and any artistic endeavor however great or small, clumsy or fine. I am no musician but find myself more often moved by the art of music to praise God than any other artform – a beneficiary of other people’s obedience to their calling.
Art as wisdom: In della pittura (1435) Leon Battista Alberti called art “sensate wisdom” and I agree with this definition. Our sermon passage tells us of a young Timothy: “…that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (NKJV). Alberti writes of another kind of wisdom that begins with observing the handiwork of God all around you; a wisdom that increases by looking at these things intently, over lengths of time to see how Christ sustains it and holds it all together, redeeming everything in due time. We increase our knowledge of God and His mighty works as we represent the continuous masterwork of creation to one another. While human art can never be superior to the world around us, it is a lovely and valuable signpost along the path of His redemption plan toward our eternal destination. Here we see that God has made this massive oak or, in His image, an old man stooped over with age. Mighty are His works… What comes next? The dim light will strengthen in the spring and the leaves will come back and the man will be brought home to glory. Thusly we have observed God’s faithfulness toward His artwork in the world and we can now make a visual testimony of these things on paper.
Art as worship: I play no instrument and am not a great singer, but I love to sing. Christ Church monthly shape note gatherings have been meaningful times of worship even though I would not be credited with having any giftedness in the music department. God is not looking for perfection but desire. If you think that you do not possess an artistic gift, I encourage you to try out an unfamiliar artform and bring a desire to worship God through feeble efforts and dedicate it to Him. In a world of inputs, I find a worshipful dialogue taking place in the quiet moments of artistic planning and output. My meandering thoughts over the hours inevitably end up in praise to God for the wonders of His love and delight in Him. I am filled with gratitude for the things that I am rendering – especially trees which I greatly enjoy drawing and painting. I am daily in awe of God as I work on designs with materials that He provides and see them built and finished in His light. And I am pleased to show Him the results of any work that I engage, and I hope that He is pleased to see it.
Art as obedience: “ See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah: And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship...… and in the hearts of all that are wise hearted I have put wisdom, that they may make all that I have commanded thee” (KJV). While Bezaleel is uniquely pointed out in the passage, it must be noted that the same spirit is issued broadly for many to contribute to the work of the tabernacle and in every case the initiator is the spirit of God, in wisdom. This is consistent with the creation mandate; be fruitful and multiply. That is to say; “be creative, make things, arrange things, invent, design, carve, photograph, color, cook, draw, paint, sculpt, cut, stitch, sew, build, write, make music, sing, dance” and then go back and do it again with improvements! There are no people on this earth to whom that mandate has not been issued. When we obey God’s creation mandate, we are spreading abroad the goodness of God and the gospel of His salvation through Jesus. I suppose some people obey unintentionally – Rafael is responsible for many marvelous religious artworks (my favorite is Deliverance of St. Peter, 1514) but in life he was kind of a dirtball and fortunately confessed his life of sin on his deathbed at age 37. At any rate, for those that obey out of a desire to please God and worship Him in artworks, get used to all this creativity – this is something that will not only continue in Heaven but will accelerate.
