5 Callings of the Artist – A Meditation on Our Identity as The Beloved

"We are children of God, and if children, then heirs

 – heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ."

 Romans 8:16-17

Beloved, whether your gifts bloom in the arts or elsewhere, there's a call to use them for the glory of God and to build the Kingdom Come. 

Now, before the self-proclaimed “non-creative” person dismisses this post, I’d like to defend you from yourself. You read that right.  While you may not be an artist, yes, you are creative. And yes, there’s a difference. So, hear me out: as a co-heir WITH Christ, as a co-heir OF God, you inherited the best of your Abba Father. He isn’t only creative, He is Creator. 

Daughter – creativity is in you and for you because it’s His nature. We are the Imago Dei, made in His image, created with a unique call to co-labor with the King. 

 And so, the next time you hesitate to say, “I’m not creative,” or “I’m not ____ (fill in the blank)” I encourage you to sieve your “I can’t” through the lens of your God-given identity as co-heir. It’s through your identity as God’s Beloved that you are stirred up to declare: “I am…because He says so.”

What exactly does that look like? What does it mean to be a co-heir with Christ? 

First, I want to put our meditation verse (Romans 8:16-17) back in its greater context and read around this reference to see what gives it its arms and legs, so to speak. Our fellow heir, the Apostle Paul, is speaking to us, the Beloved, about our spiritual reality:

“You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you.” Paul continues to lay it out for us, defining our inheritance by the Spirit, “Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him” (vs. 9). Co-heirs carry His Spirit – as the Beloved, we are His dwelling place; home of the Holy Spirit. 

Let’s go a little further with Paul: “So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” (vs. 12-13)

Here comes the best part, Beloved: “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’” (vs. 14-15)

I don’t know about you, but my eyes well with tears when I read these words. This is our reality as the Beloved; as Co-Heirs. Daughtership. We are gathered in, sealed by the Spirit. 

“The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs – heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.” (vs. 16-17, our Meditation Monday verse).

I’m careful to gain context for our verse reference so we have a better knowledge of what it is we are meditating on: our identity in Christ. And when we know our identity, we have greater clarity on our calling. Whatever that may be.

With a growing understanding of what it means to be co-heirs with Christ, I want to stir you onto what I affectionately refer to as The Five Callings of the Artist. Again, you may not consider yourself an artist, but as a fellow creative (and you ARE that, Beloved) we have these callings in common.

The Callings are as follows (as adapted by Jerram Barrs):

This is truly all encompassing. Glorify God in the seen and unseen. The big and the small. The everyday and the mundane. Glorify Him in all we do with all of who we are.

Ever heard the phrase, “Do it for the process?” It implies there is pleasure to be had simply in the making of something, even if it doesn’t “turn out” or achieve some sort of perceived perfection. What if in our makings, we got to know God more intimately by abiding – enjoying and delighting – in His presence? It just so happens that His presence changes everything. Being God’s co-heir of the Kingdom, we inherit good gifts. Enjoying those gifts is worship.

  Art is meant to serve. It's never to spoon feed our own vanity but only ever  made whole and holy when in service to others. When we fail to serve others with our gifts, they diminish; they atrophy. Essentially, they’re twice as good when shared. The economy of the Kingdom is that as co-heirs, we are always with our Father and everything He has is ours (see also Luke 15:31). 

Now that we know our identity, we can work in it. Remember, everything the Father has is ours. So declare it over yourself. Over your day. Over your life. This is operating in the richness of the Kingdom and stewarding well as a co-laborer and a co-heir. The Beloved are children of God who work to bring heaven’s reality in the here and now. Which brings us to our last calling…

My husband and I co-own and operate two businesses, one of them being a fine jewelry brand inspired by our other career in the world of fine art. Our touchstone mantra is all about “Adorning God’s Beloved” in the inherent truth and beauty of the gospel. We do this through creating tangible reminders of God’s faithfulness (we aptly call these jewelry designs “Ebenezers”) and dare to ask the adorned, “what would it look like if we “put on” Christ every day? What if what we wore could be a spiritual “putting on,” calling us into our Belovedness? This is our idea of giving them Heaven; setting back the boundaries of the fall and flourishing in the Eden of our hearts. Heaven is closer than we think; it can and should be experienced in our everyday lives. This is a part of our inheritance – our spiritual reality – sealed by the Spirit: we live not according to the flesh, but by the King’s order which names us fellow heirs with Christ. Heaven on earth. We are the Kingdom Come people. Heirs of an eternal reign with him; glorified with Christ. Does this make you weep with me? I surely hope so. This is more real than our realest real here on earth. It’s nearly impossible to fathom, but it’s also ours to operate in.   

Each one of these callings could be their own essay or blog post, but I wanted to introduce them here as an outline for the artist in which our creative gifts are purposed for God's glory, service of others + the benefit of community, requiring us to step into our identity as co-heirs with Christ, in order to set back the boundaries of the fall. 

We know that art and creativity matter to God because 1. He IS Creativity, Wisdom and Beauty, and 2. We are given the example of Bezalel in the Old Testament who was the first person recorded in scripture to ever receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. AN ARTIST. Why do you think this is? 

God is currently using and will continue to use the arts to testify of His second coming — you heard it here, folks. There is a Renaissance on the horizon. Some of us have been here for a while, but there will be a take-over of the arts for our good and His glory and we will see the arts renewed & restored for their original intent! I’m ready. Are you?

Which "calling" resonates most with you? Challenges you? Name them below. 

And remember, you are BELOVED.