“Here is the challenge, I believe, for the Christian artist, in whatever sphere: to tell the story of the new world so that people can taste it, and want it, even while acknowledging the reality of the desert in which we presently live.” –N.T. Wright
I think Wright is correct in his assessment of what it is artists who are Christians ought to be doing. I also think that this is an extremely difficult thing to do. It is much easier to live in a dualistic world which either focuses on depravity and brokenness or overemphasizes the beauty of the world around us [or seeks to escape altogether] than to embrace the tension and pain. To step into a broken yet beautiful world and see what is here and imagine what is to come is almost more difficult than we can bear… almost. To embrace the tension and the pain and offer it up without despairing completely, while still holding onto hope, however small – this is what true Christian artists should endeavor to do. And to produce not just anything but to produce excellent art, something of great value, is a difficult thing indeed.
One who gazes at the present while looking ahead to the future — this is an artist and a Christian.
