As Korean Americans, art is devalued in importance under the light of academic success and financial stability, but it is important to understand that pursuing art is an honorable undertaking.  God is the first artist, and this is evident when we gaze upon the beauty of a sunset, or fall entranced by the twinkling stars in a perfectly fashioned night sky.  Nature gives testament to God's glory and His fathomless ingenuity, and more amazing still is how He invites man to be a part of it all.  With the pen of his mercy, He writes the story of mankind, in which we are all characters, fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of our great God.

When God tells us that we are made in his image, this goes beyond our physical attributes and extends deeper.  God allows us to experience the world not only with our five senses, but with our emotions, our ambitions and our free will.  When we create, we tap into the spirit of God's love as He created first.  If look back and view the events surrounding our Lord Jesus Christ's through the objective glass of historical events it's easy to miss how history is actually a story of God's love for his people; the greatest story ever written and still being written today.

In our youth we are more ready to view life through the spyglass of limitless possibilities, free to dream and pursue pure ambitions untainted by the perversities of worldly "logic" or "practicality"; but the hands of time tirelessly tear at our innocence, replacing our purity of sight with the harsh shadows of "reality."  Christ showed a special affinity for children, even rebuking his own disciples, saying "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven".  It is easier for a child to gratefully accept the gift of God grace, which understandably makes no sense to people living in a world where nothing is free.  Embodied in a child is the innocence to hope and this hope is what the devil tries to rob us of.  In the story of God's love for us, Jesus Christ was sacrificed to provide hope for a fallen people, that otherwise would never have been able to find reconciliation with a perfect God. 

A true artist is selfless, investing his or her life and laying the soul bare for the people.  Art isn't restricted to the textures of a canvas; the reel of a film, the graceful gestures of a dance, or the perfect harmonies of a song.  When someone does anything with all of his heart, it becomes art, and for Christians, living in such a way lays the foundation for living life as an act of worship to God.  Art has the ability to inspire, and to stir in people the childlike hope to dream that so easily gets lost as we grow older.  Hope is dying at the hands of a self indulgent society and it is up the dreamers and visionaries to suffer and bleed, to be martyred for the sake of its recovery; and in following with the example set by our Lord Jesus Christ, for the sake of people, most of which will never appreciate such sacrifice.   

Comments (1)

davidbpark wrote on March 03, 2009

Title: ... ugh so good. report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0