Tag Archive for creative communication

Reason and Imagination

As a believer, and especially as a creative communicator, consider the truth that you are called to communicate:

We are caught up in the love of a Father for His Son and the love of a Son for His Father. They have poured out their Spirit upon us so that we can share their union—not in a theoretical or someday sense, but now, in our minds, hearts, and lives. The Father, Son, and Spirit all interact with us and draw us into themselves.

Art serves these truths well…and by art, I mean not only music and graphics but any means of creative communication, including speaking. Art is an emotional expression. It marries

the objective and the subjective,
truth and personal experience,
fact and emotion,
information and inspiration,
analysis and passion,
reason and imagination.
 

C.S. Lewis, my favorite extra-biblical writer, said

Poetry calls passion to the aid of reason.

I apply that to my own writing:

Hymns call passion to the aid of reason.

But I think it could apply more generally as well:

Art calls passion to the aid of reason.

For my taste, too much art today—particularly music—focuses on temporary and shallow emotional stimulation. Don’t settle for that! Our truth deserves and demands more! Art can and should do so much more! Art can stimulate mentally and spiritually as well as emotionally. It can grip the mind as well as the heart.

Paul urged the Corinthian church to focus on content in their shared worship, not just emotional outpouring:

I will pray with the spirit and
I will pray with the mind also;
I will sing with the spirit and
I will sing with the mind also.
(1 Corinthians 14:15, NASB)

Whatever your medium of expression, study and absorb those in your field who have best touched both mind and heart. For me as a hymnwriter, that is Charles Wesley. Learn from the best! Let them inspire you to find your own means of expressing the truth and beauty that is Jesus Christ.