One question which plagued my heart in my 2nd-3rd year at Sydney College of the Arts was : What is the point of making art when they will burn away? No one imposed this question on me. I asked it myself as a result of the way in which I was growing as a Christian. My answer back then was : no point. I dropped art all together and entered into paid-ministry. This was not the only reason why I went down that path. There were lots of reasons. Good ones and not so helpful ones.
Last week, I realized how inconsistent this question was. Asking this question is like saying, ‘What is the point of eating when you will die anyway?’ I’ve never met a person who says or thinks this. Rather Christians almost always ’embrace’ food, because of their calling to give thanks to God for his provision and to share it with others. It powerfully reminds me of the invitation to sit at the festive banquet of the Lamb ( Rev 19:9 ).
Eating is a gift from God. It sustains our lives and though, our physical bodies may waste away, we will continue to eat in thankfulness and rejoice in the invitation of God to join in his feast and grasp hold of his promise to create us anew with new glorious bodies.
So, instead of ‘What’s the point of making pictures when they will burn away?’ The question I should have asked myself is : Jesus is the Lord of heaven and earth. He is the Lord of my life. Then, what does that mean for my Art practice and all the other things that happen in my life?
Leave a comment