Whenever Our Hearts Condemn Us...

This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.

Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him.

And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us. 1 John 3:19-24

It struck me recently that much of the conversation I find myself having with artists who identify themselves as followers of Christ is very seriously concerned with moral perfection. Perhaps it would be better described as a moral burden. This burden or pressure to perform morally and ethically disturbs me for several reasons. The first is simply that this sense of pressure to perform morally is not the intended result of the new birth. In fact, it seems to demonstrate a lack of reception of saving grace and the gospel of grace. Truly, I would hope that artists who actually believe in Jesus would be the freest of all artists, but I find that just the opposite is true. Those whom we might consider to be anti-God or anti-Christian are often the very ones whose lives are seemingly unfettered by self-salvific moralism.

I suppose I'm merely observing what Tim Keller describes in his book The Prodigal God as the older brother/younger brother phenomenon. Not to over-simplify the scenario by applying the parable directly to artists, but I suppose I could apply Tim's reading of the Prodigal Son story and subsequent indictment of the "older brother" who stayed home with the father as being equally as lost as the "younger brother" who cared not for the father or the rules of the household but demanded what was "his". In the end, Dr. Keller shows us that both brothers are equally far from receiving the father's love and grace and the sense of freedom therein. But, as we also learn from Tim, at least the younger brother ultimately humbles himself and receives the fattened calf (a picture of Christ's sacrifice) and the ring-seal of the the father's favor (picture of the Spirit).

Yet, I wonder if it really is as simple as that in this case: believing artists are at home with the father like the older brother and unbelieving artists are like the younger brother whom the father is faithfully seeking on the horizon? Two kinds of lostness...? The application seems too simplistic to me. Certainly the gospel demands a moral response, that is, an embodied response to the Reality of Redemption. This seemingly awkward transition of sinner to redeemed human being is the "already-but-not-yet" moment in which believing artists find themselves. And I think they have a lot of naturally accompanying fears and hopes in the midst of that scenario. As I look on the faces of these would-be artists seeking to follow Christ with all their heart, I have to believe that their sense of over-responsibility is more than just a self-righteous obsession with their own moral rectitude. While this may be the case in many, it does not account for the abject fear I've seen in some of their faces.

So what about this fear? Fear that God will strike you down if you accept a role that is less than wise or write a play that is more vulgar than is good for one, or perhaps you publish a trashy novel in hopes of getting a better opportunity in the future, and the list goes on...I suppose we all want to know what will come of our relationship with God and his people if our story was to include some of these mishaps. And here, I surmise, is the kicker! What will God's people say or do or think about my art work? Not what will God say, think, do...

What will Christians say, think, do about my work?

Isn't that the real fear? Perhaps the grace we are seeking isn't the grace of God but the grace of God's people that is so tragically and egregiously absent in the current relational state of the church to the arts. There is perhaps so little grace between the two communities that artists who find themselves living between them are completely petrified both of stepping on the toes of the lost younger brothers in the arts and the lost older brothers at home in the church. If this is true, then what a situation! How can we increase the level of grace that is extended to artists from the church, particularly those artists who would hope to call the church home? But then of course the question follows, how can we extend grace to artists who are far from home and have not yet grown weary of their lostness from the father? Still more, how can we extend grace to the lost artists who are physically home in the church yet so afraid of the father, desperately trying to secure his favor through moral perfection?

Oh Father, help us! This is a sad picture indeed.

Some prayers of hope:

To the artist who calls the church her home. Let us say to her, Daughter, breathe deeply of grace and fear not the loss of your place in his arms for you did not come home by your will but by his own, and you are not saved by your cleanliness but by his own.

To the artist who has yet to find his home in the church, let us extend a loving and hospitable hand...the hand of a patron, and of a father and of a wise citizen who seeks the flourishing of the city in which he has been exhiled. Let us extend the hands of those who live in covenant with the Almighty, who care for the alien in the land.

Finally, let us all together say to our hearts whenever they condemn us, that we have comfort and a great Saviour in Jesus Christ who was fully drowned in the cup of God's wrath, yet overcame the final judgement because he had not sinned. If we believe in him, then we are blameless by his death. Let us live as artists in the light of this truth.

Let your art-making and your great adventure of faithfulness be in response to the greatest act of love that ever was or ever will be.

Let us make art in this spirit, with this peace in our hearts.

Never fear, for it shames the cross.

Kenyon

Missing the Mark

Once I was alive apart from the law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang up and I died. Romans 7:9

I like to say I got into acting on a fluke, but I believe God wanted me to be an actor so that I would become more like Him and that through my work others would see what Christ has done. In my pursuit of each character I discover that God is changing me, whispering to me about my own heart. The work of the actor has been called incarnational. We embody characters and enter the world of their story in order to pursue their ultimate good no matter who the character might be. All good actors discover their character through compassion, identifying with them and seeking their highest end.

I once prepared a scene for a TV episode in which my character was being questioned by the police at his little brother’s funeral. At first I believed my character was angry at his brother for having lived such a careless life and ending up a statistic. Just beneath the surface of his anger was latent sorrow and grief. Simple right? But the moment of breakthrough in the audition room came when I realized that my character was actually angry at himself and desperately trying to avoid the shame and guilt he felt for being unable to save his brother, a task that was never within his ability to accomplish. It turns out there’s something more universal than grief…pride.

A funny thing happens in our hearts whenever we hear about the thing which we must become… or else. Somehow we construct a perimeter by which we can measure or express our negligible resources to pull it off. And when the dust settles we’ll tax the world and everyone in it before we can admit our own failure to measure up to the standard. It’s a very fancy version of the blame game. The bible refers to this high standard as the law. But why is it that a perfect description of our intended purpose in the world, our teleos, awakens in us a sense of dread or even self hatred rather than inspired moral character?

In the Garden of Eden (Genesis chapters 1-2) Adam and Eve had no concept of their smallness in the great scheme of things, and they were never meant to. An infant is small but is never made to feel small in the world of the family. In fact it’s just the opposite. We’ve all seen how the nuclear center of the family shifts to accommodate a new born. But let the infant get the idea that it will enact it’s sovereignty on the local government to produce abundance and society on its own, then it must either have a moment of devastation or else it must find a vision more within its reach.

The gospel shows us that Jesus Christ the King, who does all things well, made himself lowly and condemned on the cross so that we could be held in great esteem by our Heavenly Father. He became insignificant so that we could become God’s treasured possession. Most of all, he fully claimed the condemnation that cries from every corner of every human heart “You’ve missed the mark!”

As you continue to reflect on the intersection of Christ's work on the cross and your own work in the world, consider how these gospel-conversant questions for the actor might also apply to your daily reception of God’s favor and love, which he stands ready to lavish on you in every moment of life, especially now.

Kenyon

Suggested Questions for the Actor in Loving Pursuit of a Character:

(Also may be helpful to ask questions in first person or “in character” using "I" and "my")

■ What does my character like most about herself/himself?

■ What is she/he most proud of in the story of their life?

■What would she/he likely change about herself/himself or their story if they could?

■ What mark or measure would she/he feel they have failed to attain in life?

■ What does she/he most regret in their life?

■ With whom does she/he need to be reconciled?

■ How will they she/he know they have been restored in that relationship?

■ How will she/he know when everything is finally ok in their story?

■ How would they describe “the good life”?