In the beginning, God created. He made the heavens and the earth; he designed our innermost beings and wove us together while we were in our mothers’ wombs.
The intricacies of the human body alone are a testament to God’s innovativeness.
The concept of God’s creativity is preached and taught frequently, yet somehow the modern church has lost sight of the value of good art and artistry.
Not only did God create, but he created us to create.
In recent decades we have seen increasing value placed on the quality of musical worship. What hasn’t received as much attention in the modern church is the creation and quality of other art forms.
We have gone from the extravagant and Scripture-inspired paintings of the Sistine Chapel and the Notre Dame Cathedral to rushed PowerPoint slides and poor stage design.
While the church should first and foremost center around the gospel, it is missing out on something significant when it doesn’t consider quality art a priority.
First, if the church doesn’t value art, it won’t fully utilize its members who have artistic abilities.
If a church has a “hand” that can paint or sculpt or write poetry, that is a gift that can and should be used to bring glory to the God who provided it.
Not only can that gift be used to honor God within the church, but outside of it, as well. When was the last time you heard of artistic outreach?
In the book of Colossians, Paul urged the church in Colossae to “work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.”
If we think of our art as an act of service, it should look drastically different than it does for most churches now.
Our work and the effort we put into it reflects our love for the God we serve and worship.
Knowing that, we should pursue excellence when given the opportunity to use our imaginations and produce a work of art as an act of worship.
