Art Reflecting the Soul of the Artist

Greetings All,

I haven't mused theological in quite a while.  Life has been consumed with laundry room remodeling and keeping up with the kids.  I just finished reading Dark Night of the Soul by St. John of the Cross and decided to read something that did not involve quotes in Latin or language structure that was hundreds of years old.  We all need to read Christian classics, but they can be a chore to read at times.  My choice was to re-read, or more accurately start over and actually finish, My Struggle with Faith by Joseph Girzone, the author of my favorite book Joshua.  It is a non-fiction book where he lays out the theological journey of his life.  He admits to questions and struggles along the way as he came to the beliefs he holds today.  Chapter three really struck me this morning and I just wanted to share this thought with each of you as it is a beautiful truth as we look out the window at the warmth and sunshine and color coming back into a white and dreary world.

Chapters one and two have him laying out his beliefs about God as creator and His creation.  The conclusion that he comes to is that the world and universe is basically the canvas of God's artwork.  Rather than look for scientific explanations, he chooses to look for beauty the same way one appreciates artwork.  Instead of trying to understand how the eye and ear work in continuity and perfect synchronization, he chooses to marvel at the incredible nature of that very fact.  To understand it is not to make it more amazing or more beautiful.  It is in a word, "Art!"  He then tells a story in chapter three of a friend of his from a national art organization who he invites to look at a number of pictures painted by a young man in Girzone's parish.  In just a couple of minutes the man was able to look at fourteen different pictures and draw some amazing conclusions about the young man.  The lesson of the story was simply this, "Art reflects the soul of the artist."

If art reflects the soul of the artist and if we view all of God's creation as art, what does creation tell us about the nature of God?  For years I have been telling folks to view the Bible as a story about God rather than instructions for how to live life; to ask of the Bible, not, "what does this tell me about how to live," but to ask, "what does this tell me about the character of God?"  Now Girzone is inspiring me to ask the same questions of creation.  What does the changing of the seasons tell me about the character of God?  What does the brilliance of color in nature tell me about the character of God?  What does the inexplicable nature of the Platypus tell me about the character of God?  What do mosquitoes tell me about the character of God?  Okay, don't try to answer the last one, it may lead you to dark and dangerous places.

What a new lens to look at creation through!  As we look out and see the hints of spring; smell the change of nature, feel the warmth of the sun on our skin and hear the sounds of the critter world coming back to life let us ask ourselves what does the beauty of all this tell us about the character of God?  Enjoy the warm weather!

Your brother in Christ,
Faron