A Writing Journal IV

April 4, 2006
At Mom and Dad Baart’s house in Surrey.

Freedom

“Those who believe they believe in God, but without passion in the heart, without anguish of the mind, without uncertainty, without doubt, and even at times without despair, believe only in the idea of God and not in God himself.” Unamuno

Herein lies the freedom to question, doubt, and wrestle in my writing (and in my life). “Christian” art need not be perfect, easy, likable, or even always beautiful. It must be, above all, real and true--revealing cosmos in chaos, not ignoring the chaos. And yet, unlike so much of postmodern fiction (art, life in general), certainly not ignoring the cosmos. The end result is always beauty when you recognize a loving Lord who orders his creation. Though I do think sometimes that our definition of beauty is sadly skewed. Our fairytale ending is secured in heaven, not necessarily on earth.

Sacred

“There is nothing so secular that it cannot be sacred, and that is one of the deepest meanings of the incarnation. Secular = God, Sacred = God, All = God” Madeleine

I’ve always known this. I am, after all, a Calvinist, aren’t I? Gotta love that Reformed theology!

And yet, sometimes I fear the secular in my writing. Why? Fear of what Christians may think? Fear that maybe we’re wrong, that maybe some things are unredeemably secular and incapable of being made sacred? Or maybe I’m afraid to let God be alive, vibrant, unexpected? What if he refuses to fit into my nice box? Is that where I want him to be in spite of my assertions otherwise?

Can every area of life be unapologetically sacred? It was, all of it, created by the mighty hand of God. And it was, and still is, good.