The year was 1669 when Dutch painter Rembrandt first put paint to canvas in creating what is regarded by many as the greatest picture ever painted. The painting, aptly called “The Prodigal Son,” depicts the well known parable in the Gospel of Luke. For Rembrandt though, this was much more than paint on a canvas or light and shadow.
In what would be his last, Rembrandt painted his story, in fact, our story. A man who gave the world hundreds of works would find his greatest to be a depiction of redemption, the story of salvation. The story of a man seeking what the world has to offer only to find true joy and true peace in the arms of his father.
Fast forward just a few decades later to the early 1700s where German composer Johann Sebastian Bach sat down to begin a new composition. He began how he always began, by writing the letters JJ in the top corner of the page, shorthand for the Latin “Jesu Juva” or “Jesus, help.” It is said that Bach, before beginning any composition, would petition Jesus for help and guidance that he may be glorified by whatever may come of this blank page in front of him.
Upon completion of his work, the letters SDG would always follow his signature, Latin for Soli Deo Gloria, “For the Glory of God Alone”. Bach knew that if his work did not start with a petition to Christ for help it could never reach the heights of his intentions, and if his work was not focused on the glory of God alone it would be a worthless endeavor.
For generations the arts were led by and, in many ways, defined by Christians who sought to bring glory to God through their work. This had a significant impact on the culture and the way in which culture viewed Christianity and its importance. We have long known that it isn’t the politicians or business leaders that have the greatest influence on the culture, it’s the poets, composers, musicians and artists that not only lead, but are the engines that fuel change. This can be good, but, as we have seen in the past 50 years, is a fact that is lost on the majority of evangelicals.
Barna Group recently published a survey that found only 1 in 4 Americans consider themselves practicing Christians, a 50 percent reduction from just a decade ago. The church, year after year, is seeing a reduction in church attendance and a continued increase of disinterest in Christianity nationwide.
As the church develops countless outreach programs and struggles to find ways to engage the culture and refill the pews, the culture continues to slide away from religion as it looks to its most talented and popular artists and musicians who are, unfortunately, anything but Christian.
Even those who bear the label “Christian” must distance themselves from the truth of the word of God if they have any hope of success. We often scratch our heads and wonder how we got here when the answer is quite simple. We’ve lost the culture. We’ve lost the culture because we’ve lost the arts.
While there is room for debate about how exactly Christianity lost the arts, there is no denying that we have. One only needs to turn on one of the numerous awards shows to see how far the arts have slid from the days of Rembrandt and Bach.
This begs the question; What are we to do? The answer, my dear reader, is we must create, we must contribute. We must return again to the simple prayer of Bach; Jesus, help. We must give the world the beauty that can only come from a heart that has been transformed by beauty himself. We must write, sing, paint, compose, sculpt, plant, support, enjoy and share the truth, beauty and goodness that has so graciously been given to us.
That last part is the key to winning back the culture. We must share it. Our art must reflect the beauty of Christ and that light must shine brightly into a culture in desperate need of light.
We may not all be called as musicians, writers, artists or composers but we do all have something to contribute, some light to shine. I can not tell you what yours is but I hope I can inspire you to find it. I will leave you with an excerpt from Walt Whitman’s poem “O Me, O Life”:
“Oh me! Oh life! of the questions of these recurring, of the endless trains of the faithless, of cities fill’d with the foolish. The question, O me! so sad, recurring—What good amid these, O me, O life?”
Answer: That you are here—that life exists and identity, that the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.
What is your verse?
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