Here I am, thinking that I am so great and mighty. According to myself, the work of my hands have brought me here. Pride pervades every part of my life and I see it so painfully blatant in my music. I strive, not to present this gift God has given me as an act of worship, but as a means to be seen as "perfect" in the eyes of people.
But she taught me. Not a professor, not a highly trained musician, but a child. As her practice tutor, I help her once a week with her piano assignments. Our relationship has steadily grown over the past year. She looks up to me, adores me as only a child can. And she has a special place in my heart. So when she handed me a drawing after our practice session one day, my glowing smile reflected hers. This image of a puppy, crayoned in blue and purple, wouldn't find a place in an art gallery. (Could anyone even tell what animal that is?) But because I love the artist, I gladly accept, and more - cherish - the art.
Have you ever received a piece of artwork from a child? Their eyes are big and round, their face lights up full of joy and anticipation for your response. They present their best work as a token of their love for you. There is no fear or shame. You remark with enthusiasm, "It's beautiful! Thank you!" You share pure joy together because ultimately it's the relationship, not the art, that is on display.
And I believe this is the way it is between us and God. We tend to think we are so great and grand. We somehow believe that our perfection could compete with His. (Why else do we take such pride in our "success" and fall into despair at the slightest sign of "failure"?) We would never state those claims out loud. But inwardly, we become completely caught up in perfectionism...how people see us and our work. We strive up and up and up, convinced that someday we will become "masters" of our art. We build our Tower of Babel ever higher - not in a quest to see God, but to be our own gods.
In the midst of our delusion, we never realize that all our best efforts are a mere child's drawing. After all, God is not just an artist. He is the Artist. He imagined the brilliant glory of every sunrise and sunset. He birthed the very idea of music. The uniqueness of each individual speaks of His endless creativity. Every single thing in nature is an expression of His own nature.
So what do we do when faced with Perfection Himself? We hand our art to Him, in adoration, saying, "Here, Daddy. This is for You!" We know that our greatest offerings could never measure up to Him, but we also know that He delights in us and so He naturally delights in our art. What father would reject his child's artwork? What child would be ashamed to give her artwork to her loving father? As we share this pure, uninhibited joy, we find the true meaning and purpose of art. For above all else, everything we do is about relationship with Him.
Consider this perspective of prayer: "As my heavenly Father looks back, surely the moments of greatest delight in His relationship with me were when I, in childlike dependence and faith climbed into His lap in prayer, put my little hand on His big hand, and said, 'Father, can we drive the tractor over here?'"
Or this story: "A little boy was taken to a Paderewski concert by his mother. He slipped away from her, made his way to the platform, sat down at the concert piano and began to play Chopsticks. The crowd reacted with anger and said to take the boy away. Paderewski, when he realized what was going on, went to the piano and began playing along with the boy, whispering to him, “Keep going. Don’t quit, son. Keep playing. Don’t stop. Don’t quit.”'
The truth is, no matter how hard we work or how successful we become, we can never be complete in our own capabilities. Instead, it is in collaboration with the Author and Source of all life that we become complete in what truly matters. We should not strive higher, but learn to sink deeper into His love, seeking to meet Him in every unexpected place. When we lean in, we will hear Him whisper, "I love you. Not for what you do. Not for your achievements. You, just you, are precious to Me. I love you. Oh, how I love you."
Art is a collaboration between God and the artist, and the less the artist does, the better. -Andre Gide
Quotes from:
Why Pray? by John F. DeVries
https://www.truthorfiction.com/paderewski/
Inspired by: Imagine That by Manuel Luz