You know, one of the things I admire most in people is creativity. I don't know if it's because I don't seem to have a lot of the stuff, or what, but whenever I meet or observe a really creative person, I just end up amazed, with my jaw hanging down at their gift. And there are all kinds of creativity - like the kind that my mom has to do paintings, or the kind my friend has to sew and draw and sculpt. There's also ministry creativity - "doing church in ways it has never been done before" like Pastor Mark in DC, and entrepreneurial creativity - making a business by doing something new and different.
I believe we should live our lives creatively, even those of us who don't necessarily have a knack for it. I think we all ought to strive toward the new.
Why?
Well, because it's Biblical, of course! (You knew that was coming, didn't you?)
OK, so we could start in Genesis where God CREATED, and then said that we are made in His image (so we're creative too, get it?) See Genesis 1:26.
And then there's this:
"Forget about what's happened;
don't keep going over old history.
Be alert, be present. I'm about to do something brand-new.
It's bursting out! Don't you see it?
There it is! I'm making a road through the desert,
rivers in the badlands." -Isaiah 43:18-19(MSG)
God does something new every day in our lives, creates new miracles right under our noses. Are we creative enough to even acknowledge what He is doing? If our minds are caught in the past, or in the mundane again-ness of our existence instead of the creativity in our midst, we might just miss out on some really awesome living!
"You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness." - Ephesians 4:22-24 (NIV)
And if our minds are not open to creativity, we could also ignore the amazing regeneration He has planned for our character-building. He can attempt to make us a new creation, growing more and more in holiness, but without our cooperation, He might not get very far. We need to be creative enough to see our potential - the possibility of what we might become.
I could go on, but you probably get the point by now. Let's just leave it at this: I truly believe that even the dullest humans on the planet have at least one creative talent in them, however deeply it may be buried. To look at myself, I would classify me as lacking in creativity. But . . . there is at least one thing I can think of that is creative about me: I like to write stories. And I like to write about stories. I like to use words creatively - to inspire and to change. And so I do - because there are new stories to write and new ways to write about stories.
So I challenge you to do the same. Live creatively today. Think outside your little box. Make something that you've never made before. Go somewhere you've never been. Be different just because you can (different, not rebellious - there is a distinction). And then smile, because you've just lived out your God-given God-image. And because you can be sure He's enjoying your creativity too.
