“In the beginning God created the Heavens and the Earth.” – Genesis 1:1 (NIV).
I am a firm believer that we are all artists. Wherever you are and whatever your interests, you are an artist. We were born to create because we serve a God who is the ultimate Creator of everything that we see and touch. We serve a God who is the ultimate Artist. Who said ‘let there be light’ and there was (Genesis 1:1, NIV). Who breathed this whole, vast, and quickly moving earth that we see today into existence.
Creativity is from God, and God’s stamp on each one of us.
Theologian and teacher Francis Shaeffer puts it this way: “The Christian in the one whose imagination should fly beyond the stars.” He says in another place, “Christian art is the expression of the whole life of the whole person as a Christian. What a Christian portrays in his art is the totality of life… ” As Christians we are called to create. We are called to reflect God’s glory and be image bearers of our Creator in all that we do. This includes creating something beautiful – both in our art, and in our life.
To be clear, I am not speaking only of the kinds of ‘art’ that we typically think of when we hear that word—creating through mediums such as drawing or painting. I have a friend who is an incredible artist—and who actually teaches it as a subject at a local high school. I greatly admire her gift and think it’s awesome how she uses it. However, I for one, cannot draw to save my life.
This does not make me less of an artist—just an artist of a different kind. My primary way of creating is through writing. Through splashing words on a page and painting with them. Even still, I have friends who create through other mediums. Mediums such as singing, dancing, photography, or playing an instrument. These are all forms of art that we can use to glorify God and create something beautiful with the gifts that our Lord has given us.
Maybe you’re reading this and thinking to yourself ‘This still doesn’t relate to me. I am not by nature, a creative type’. I am here to tell you otherwise. We each create something in our day to day lives, in the smallest, most simple kind of ways. I read a quote by Seth Godin a couple of years ago that perfectly illustrates this point.
He says, “Art is too important a term to be used just for painters. And sculptors. And playwrights. And actors. And architects of a certain type. No, I think we need to broaden it to graphic designers and salespeople and bosses. To lay preachers, to gifted politicians and occasionally, to the guy who sweeps the floor. Art is a human act, something that’s done with the right sort of intent. Art is when we do work that matters, in a creative way, in a way that touches them and changes them for the better.“ – Seth Godin, Graceful
We can all create art because creating art is simply moving and existing as the ‘artists’ we were created to be. In Ephesians 2:10, Paul writes, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” If you look at the word ‘handiwork’ in its original language, and compare it to its Latin equivalent ‘Poema’, it literally translates ‘poem’. We are God’s ‘poem’ created to do the good works He has already planned for us in advance. We are art created to make art.
All while reflecting the glorious and spectacular nature of the God that we serve!
This week, let us take some time to reflect on the creative nature of our God – and how we were created to create! How we can reflect God’s love, grace, and mercy, in both our lives and our art. Let us pray continuously over our creativity, and let God work in and through it! Let us never stop living life as poems – always remembering that we are a masterpiece created by our God!
How about you? What are some of the ways that you like to create? I’d love to hear about them in the comments section below!😃
1 Timothy 4:12 Girl 