an excerpt from: Confession

An excerpt from: Confession

I must tell you (sphere two) that wrestling through this topic on paper was a great joy! The pleasure was in the communion I had with Jesus (sphere one) working through the Bible, working on the clarification of the thoughts of my mind, the groans of my soul, and the motivations of my heart to see if they are biblical. Because where these things are not biblical, they will harm me on the one hand and deny me pleasures on the other. “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way” (Psalm 139:23-24).

I don’t feel for a moment that I now have a life in the arts all figured out. In all humility, the more you know, the more you realize how much you have yet to learn. But I do feel, with great confidence, that if I pursue a trajectory of starting at God in my artistic enjoyments, or push on them hard enough until I end up at God, and that in the strength that He supplies, I will not in the least be disappointed with His portion for me in the arts.

It’s not that there must forever be this big math process rendering in my mind as I try to solve the art equation with God being the sum before I can simply enjoy anything of beauty. There will probably be a season of re-calibration or re-tooling to work through, but it will be worth it. It has been worth it so far. As my mind becomes transformed to see more as God sees, it should be more simply natural (or rather supernatural) in viewing anything, to see God as the beginning, means, and end of all the things He has given us for our enjoyment. “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2).

__________________________________________________________________

excerpt from The Affections of the Heart in Art - a wrestling for the full pleasures in art Jason Harms