the question of identity

part the second
The question of identity is the primary issue that we need to address. So many of the issues that we struggle with as artists would be solved if we would first address the question of identity. Look at the story of Bezale’el (and Aholiab) in Exodus 31.1-11 and 35.30-35. God knew these artists – he had called them by name - and what their skills and training were. He had prepared them for their task.

Primary for the artist (or any christian, for that matter) is the issue of knowing that you are a child of God, created by him for a specific purpose, with talents and abilities specific to that calling. In other words, find your voice. Tell your tale. No one else will, or can. If we know who we are in Christ, who we are as sons, as heirs, as co-workers, then many issues will have less power in our lives: rejection, criticism, insecurity. If we have confidence in what God has deposited in us, and the promises he has for us, then we are less likely to be so easily wounded. If we are maturing and growing in the knowledge of our role in the kingdom, we are less likely to be paralyzed by doubt and fear.

This isn’t to say that we don’t identify ourselves as artists; simply that being an artist isn’t what defines us. That being said, if we truly understand ourselves as being artists as a calling or a vocation, we should own that and embrace that and work that out. That means work and dedication. That means developing, and learning, and maturing.