Who has inspired more Fan Art than anyone in history? Jesus of Nazareth, that’s who. Some of the greatest art in history has been Christian art. From Bach to Chance the Rapper; from Rembrandt to William Blake; and from Milton to Gerard Manley Hopkins, the Lord’s words have come to life in ten million ways.
And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”
But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead . . .”
It’s an inspired “answer” to the lawyer’s question. Jesus refuses to use the scripture as a rule-book. Instead he lets the word of God fund his imagination. The Lord is doing more than telling us a story, he is showing us how to interact with the Law.
We need inspired artists (storytellers, songwriters, dancers, and visual artists) to help our hearts receive all that the Master Storyteller had to say.
Here are a few of my favorite works of art.
