“Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.“
1 John 4:8
Those who follow the Christian faith naturally yearn to see that faith spread to communities around the world. After all, among our Savior’s last words were these: “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to everyone…”
Which brings me to a question. What role, if any, does art have in fulfilling the Great Commission?
Abraham Lincoln (not an artist, we readily admit) said, “In order to win a man to your cause, you must first reach his heart, the great high road to his reason.”
In other words, before you engage a person’s intellect, you must first engage their emotions. This is how films, and all art I would argue, operate. My Master’s Thesis at Art Center College of Design was entitled The Role of Film in the Process of Conversion to Christianity.
The famous Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh said something that has always resonated with me. (Keep in mind he was the son of a minister and before he became a painter, served as a missionary to coal miners in Belgium.)
“I have a terrible need—shall I say the word—of religion, then I go outside at night and paint the stars.”
If I might be so bold, I, too, feel the “need of religion…” Perhaps not unlike Vincent, I “go outside at night” to paint my vision of the stars, creating stories for a worldwide audience in the language of cinema. This is what has motivated me as a filmmaker for thirty plus years.
But the question remains: Am I preaching the gospel when I create films? My answer is yes, I believe I am, if I am conveying the truth that God is love.
I remember when I was in Sarajevo, making Sabina K., and how strongly I felt that, yes, I am spreading God’s Word with this movie. I am bringing the Gospel to a war-torn country (Bosnia and Herzegovina) that so very much needs to hear that God is love!
When we get the “love” part of evangelism right, we can have confidence that the message of our faith will speak across cultural, racial and religious barriers and spread to other communities, reaching across the divides that otherwise separate the children of men. Why? Because God is love!
Yes, love always,
