Art God

I recently read that the relationship one has with his earthly father is often the starting point for how he views his Heavenly Father. Unfortunately I can't remember where I read this statement (it was simply a one-liner in the middle of a longer work on an unrelated topic), but I was intrigued by the concept. Surely I don't think that we should go around judging people's relationships with their parents based on their religious beliefs, but as a means of self-analysis I think looking at one's relationship with their father might be a good way to look at one's relationship with God.

I know that personally, I have always been able to relate to God in His role of Creator more than any other role. This is, I think, because my own father is a creator, and I was taught to value creativity and artistry at an early age. In fact, if I could name one activity of mine that makes me feel closest to God, it is when I am creating. I don't create intrinsically "Christian art," but as Madeleine L'Engle wrote in Walking on Water, all good art is essentially Christian, since all things that are good come from God. (Of course, I'm not saying my art is exactly good, either, but I'm working on it ;-)

I guess I've always seen God foremost as a grand artist. When I was younger, I could literally see Him in everything, just like I was taught to see good and beauty in everything from bones to trees to animals to skyscrapers. If those feelings have waned, it is because I am older and have lost a bit of the sense of innocence that we all have when we are younger. Still, nothing has stopped me from seeing God's brush-strokes everywhere, from the rhythm of a city street to the melody of a Bob Dylan song. I guess I'm just rambling here. I just was thinking about my (somewhat weird) parents today and thought that I should thank them, because I know that the way I see God today is related to the fact that I was raised by artists, and that has done more good for me than a "normal" white-picket fence upbringing could have ever done.