The Artist's Showcase: Christ in Us, a beautiful glimpse into Eternity

How does God use art to display Christ in us? Eternity? That’s what God put on my heart recently.

Photography is something I just love. It’s exciting to play with light and angles, to experiment, create scenes, or to capture candid photos at the right moment– to capture a moment in time and preserve it. And when someone orders a print from me, it’s almost as if I’m gifting someone a piece of history; I’m giving someone a still frame of their life.

We recently had an amazing pottery demonstration at my church. Before everything began, I was sitting in the pew jotting notes as always. I heard my husband, David, speaking to the special guest. After some time, all three of us were having a conversation. The guest speaker referred to me as an artist, and it felt… amazing. It felt like an old childhood friend called me by some nickname only he and I knew about.

During the demonstration, it was beautiful to see how the process of crafting pottery so perfectly showcased a relationship and journey with God and how similar it has been to my walk with Him.

I want to understand more about why I’m drawn to photography– or rather, why humans seem to be drawn to any type of art. We’re creative in nature– I believe it’s a gift from God, and that He uses it to demonstrate His eternity.

Do you know you’re an artist?

When someone asks you, “What do you do?” how often do you respond with something besides what you do for work? with something maybe you don’t even get paid to do? Have you ever unabashedly said, “I write,” or, “I create,” or even, “I’m an artist?” The world values making money, or rank (like, sometimes management is assumed to be “better” than custodian-level work in the world).

But our Creator values us for so much more than that; in fact, He levels the playing field.

Jesus died for you. But He also died for your boss, for your neighbor, for your coworkers, teachers, and landlord…

This should sound like a breath of fresh air. God doesn’t rank us according to how other people address us. He’s created each and every person on this earth for a specific purpose. And He can use anyone for His will.

You have a purpose. And you were created to do much more than work overtime for your happiness and stow away all your money.

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. [Jeremiah 29:11 NIV]

I work in pet care, I write, do photography, I blog…

I do a lot of different things.

But one of the things God has put on my heart both in the past and most currently, is the question, Am I representing Christ?

When I finished writing my memoir, I put it away for months until God convicted me about it. I felt Him saying, This isn’t you. I’m not in this book. I gave you the gift of writing. Use it well. And I’ve been thinking about how different modes of art reflect His heart for us, His eternal love.

How does creating a simple photograph relate to our Creator who only spoke and created the earth and everything in it?

As I started digging to find what God wanted to show me through these thought processes, my first idea was to research the origins of photography, something I find enjoyment in and would like to continue to pursue as a career– the question started lingering in my mind, How can I honor God with my art?

I found out Photography means “To draw or paint with light.”

The origin of the word photography combines the Greek word phos (“light”) with graphe (“drawing” or “writing)– literally breaking down the meaning “to draw with light.”

What a description!

It reminds me of how God works. The Bible says He sees no difference between darkness and light (Psalm 139:12). God IS light.

I believe that in the same way Christ is in us, His gift is in us. We have the power to light up rooms, to light up another person’s day, to shine His light inside of us unto others, to light others’ lamps. But the light we produce doesn’t come from ourselves– we aren’t the source. Rather, it’s the evidence of Christ in us.

Jesus calls His church the “light of the world.”

You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. [Matthew 5:14 ESV].

With this truth, and knowing that WE are His workmanship (Ephesians 2:10)– what the Passion translation refers to as His poetry— I think about God painting us with His own light. He created every one of us, wholly and uniquely (Psalm 139). We’re His masterpiece, His most beloved work of art.

In this way, capturing a photograph– painting with light— is a tiny glimpse of the way God created you and me.

God made art available to us through Jesus Christ making God accessible to us. We have Christ in us, which means we are naturally creative, just like our Creator.

It’s a glimpse into what I like to call the God-lens. As God works in us, He changes our hearts, and we gain a different perspective of the world around us. God’s given me this amazing opportunity to see the art of photography in a completely new way, not from my own limited understanding but rather from an eternal vantage point.

Photography combines optics and chemistry.

Photographs form through a convergence of light rays that happens first after entering and then inside the lens, and then within the inner workings of a camera. Cameras capture images permanently onto a photosensitive area.

There’s a lot that happens within just milliseconds on the inside of that camera, and all we have as evidence in the moment is a tiny click. When all of the pixels come together, they reflect that image, and then you have a piece of history.

You need light to capture a photograph. And if there isn’t any light or not enough light, then you need a flash.

As I dug deeper into the mechanics and history of photography, I found that the earliest recorded use of the word “flash” came from the phrase “flash floods,” referring to a sudden local flood resulting from heavy rain. And the sharp glints of light on the surface of the water is what gave way to the 16th century meaning of “flash”: to burst with sudden light.

Light and water coming together to create meaning reminds me…

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.…
[Genesis 1:1-5]

God is the Ultimate Creator; Creator of the Universe. And He’s the only One who can create something out of nothing. If the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters, and God is light, then when He said, “Let there be light,” the moment God created the earth, He created even those tiny glints of light we see now.

The reflection of the creation of the world…

A flash is sudden and bright like lightning or the flash from a camera; it’s also thought to mean a sudden burst of inspiration or understanding. Like the way God spoke the world into existence, and it was perfect.

Preservation also requires light.

When I’m photographing someone’s wedding or engagement, family portrait or other special occasion, I’m capturing a moment in their lives– bringing it to light– permanently. Thinking about the origin of the word as well as how a photograph is formed, I’m drawing with light to create a permanent photo of a special moment in someone else’s life.

Art– not just photography– has a way of doing this, of recording something permanently.

In the same way, our preservation requires Christ’s light.

Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it. 
[Luke 17:33 NKJV]

And that’s what we do, as artists. We draw from things that came before: past experiences, books, other artists, places, anything inspiring, then recreate it to preserve its beauty and give it a new meaning.

We’re preserving something that had an impression on us in a positive and inspiring way.

We draw from what is already accessible because only God can create something out of nothing.

When I think about preservation, I think about the meaning of salt in the Bible:

You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. 
[Matthew 5:13-16]

Salt’s two uses in the first century were to preserve meat and to enhance the flavor, to bring out the best parts of the food. So if we are to be the salt of the earth, we would mimic those uses in the world we live in: preserve the good, the pure, and wholesome, and add or enhance the lives of others.

I love showing my client galleries or even giving little sneak peeks before it’s finished. I get to see people’s faces light up at the photos, as they realize I captured a smile, an important family moment, a kiss, a milestone… Not only a piece of history but a work of art to display in their homes or give as gifts.

Art enhances the “flavor” of life just as it preserves the best and most important memories.

Art is in us like Christ is in us

I heard recently that the trajectory of a single note– sung out– it doesn’t go anywhere. It doesn’t return back into the our mouths or go into someone else’s. It’s just out there, eternally. It creates a beautiful note, a sound-wave that goes out into the world and just exists forever.

The most important and talented Artist of all is God. He created the galaxies, the earth, and everything in it with only a few words. He spoke and there was light. It’s no coincidence to me that the process of capturing a moment in time is created by catching the light and drawing from it and with it.

This also makes me think about that saying, how we should always think before we speak because we can never take our words back. Our words really do speak life or death (Proverbs 16).

It further tells be about art and how valuable it is, whether you’re a photographer, a painter, writer, singer, musician…

The artist carries a glimpse of Heaven,

because we’re doing things like drawing with light or sending a note out into eternity– we’re setting a tone.

The Bible says we are known by our love and that we have the light of God within us, that our lives are meant to shine bright. Light is our tone.

God created the light, and I believe He created us to use our gifts to create from it. We get a glimpse of eternity when He allows us to capture something beautiful that can outlast us on earth.

The word “Focus” means “fireplace” in Latin; or, “point of convergence.” In photography, one of the most important things is to keep our subjects in focus.

Like a fireplace is the center of a home, a place where people gather for warmth, my hope is that I continue to keep God at the center, the focus. This fresh new perspective on art and the eternal component of it has refreshed my soul, reminding me that whatever I put out into the world can have a Kingdom agenda– it won’t return to me but go out and renew someone else’s spirit.

Art has a way of letting us see the world through a God-shaped lens.