Art and God...

One June 30th Crossway will release Francis Schaeffer: An Authentic Life. This (which I'm very excited about) and a recent post by Matt Johnson on the Doxologist Blog, has sparked my thinking in regards to art (specifically music) and God.

I went through a brief legalistic phase in high school, throwing away my secular CDs and refusing to watch R rated movies... then I read my Bible. I realized an important truth that Schaeffer points out so eloquently... when creativity is expressed, it is God's creativity. When an unbeliever paints a beautiful landscape he/she is expressing the goodness of God's creation. Of course, these creative expressions are damaged by sin... but that does not mean that God cannot be seen or heard in them.

I think many Christians miss out on the beauty of God's creation because so much of it is not under the label: "CHRISTIAN"

Colossians 1:16-17 "For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-- all things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together."

Don't misread. I am fully aware of the fact that much of the music and art in the world is blatantly dishonoring to God. Christians have to be discerning. But to limit your CD selection to only what they sell at Lifeway is to ignore the fact that the sovereign God of the universe is revealing himself in soooo many other ways!

With a discerning spirit, let us acknowledge the One True Creative Being in all things... music, paintings, poetry, novels, etc.

Random thoughts from T-Rex on legalism (fits the discussion)

Remember

None is righteous. None close
I am no exception. I am no rose
A spiritual man. Some say I am
If they only knew the blood on my hands
If they only knew of the words of my tongue
That role off in an instant and fire like a gun
The one’s that I love have scars that speak words
The novel of blackness. The prose of the dirt
If they only knew the thoughts of my mind
The stings of the flesh. The endeavors of the blind
All the little secrets that I wish to leave behind
The darkness of the heart may I never again find.
This muck and this mire I must never forget
For it’s truth and it’s darkness and the depth of the pit
Show the great distance from which God has reached down
To save a wicked sinner. To lift dirt from the ground
At the cross of Christ the chief of sinners redeemed
New heart. New eyes. Now glory is seen.
I am worthy only of death. Now receiver of life
He made Him who knew none to endure pain and strife
O how many times I have forgotten
The great sacrifice of His only begotten
Who conquered the grave and was resurrected
Defeater of sin. I am no longer infected
To Him alone. Glory, honor, and praise
I once was blind but now I see. I once was dead. I have been raised.

A Break in the Writer's Block

Lately I've had writers block (not on the blog... I've just been slacking here. Sorry). I haven't been able to write creatively... songs, poems, etc. I've been trying really hard to be creative and that never seems to work. It wasn't until God broke me in two that I felt the honest impulse of creativity... Here is the result. I hope and pray that it encourages my two readers to stop and praise the Glorious God we serve.

Untitled

Holy God
You are King
Sovereign Lord of Everything

Foundations shake
The earth is filled
Woe to me
My sin revealed

The darkness looms
The depths of me
Of pain and death
I am deserving

A burning coal
Against my lips
My sins atoned
A glorious glimpse

…of the one who gave it all
that I may see His glory fall

Holy, holy, holy
By thy glorious grace I worship thee
Adonai who sits enthroned
You are my Lord

Glory, glory, glory
Be to God alone
Adonai who sits enthroned
You are my Lord

Friend or Foe

"We're friendly to all you seekers
don't wanna make you mad
I don't know what I would do if you
Never came back."

"I'm sorry if I talked for too long
I'll keep it short next week
That sermon that Jesus preached was
just under thirty."

He came that we might live
So suck the life right out of it
We think we're being loving
but we're telling lies, withholding
cause we're so afraid of going like we're told.

Our catchy songs won't save them
Nor our clever titles raise them from the dead
the last thing that we need is another MTV

"Let's give a hand to the communicator
who cares if he is sound."
I heard once somewhere that a prophet
is hated in his hometown.

He came that we might live
So suck the life right out of it
We think we're being loving
but we're telling lies, withholding
cause we're so afraid of going like we're told.

Our catchy songs won't save them
Nor our clever titles raise them from the dead
the last thing that we need is another MTV