Creatively Created

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1

It’s funny, I never really saw myself as a creative. I always thought of creatives as people whose lives centered around their art. For them the singing, acting or dancing was not in the periphery. It held center stage...literally.

I always knew I was creative but never A Creative. What was identity for some was simply adjective for me. I didn’t think I was good enough at any art to put in the work  to get better, so instead of putting things of beauty and meaning out into the world, I created them half heartedly and clutched them close. I saw the box that the world had created for me and willingly contorted myself into the shape of a square, unwilling to circle back to that which I loved to create because I was taught that setting my soul on fire wasn’t a good enough criteria for a dream. As people, if we don’t create what we were meant to create, then we still end up making something. It just turns out to be an inauthentic something, an inaccurate something, an untrue something. Too often, we trade our creativity for comfort without realizing that we are sacrificing essential parts of ourselves in the process.

We are humans made in the image of God so, we cannot simply escape that which is a shimmering reflection of the father. Our status as image bearers is manifested in our ability to imagine, to dream, to create and be creative. God was the first creative and if something resembles Him, then it must be creative too. Nothing that was created can exist without purpose. Every good creation celebrates or exalts the one that created it. We are good. God looked at us and said that we were good. However, we are only good because we came from goodness. All that is positive about humanity --the capacity for love, creativity, and community that differentiates us from animals-- is merely a reflection of the image  that was given to us by God and for God.

So, I’ve come to understand that even though not every work of art in this earth was intended to give God glory, all works of art still point to God. In the same way that a shadow signals the existence of light, all that is attractive and captivating points back to God because those attributes do not exist outside of Him. In fact, creativity does not exist outside of God. As people, we are made to admire and appreciate those things that we are attracted to. However, we were never meant to praise any created thing above God. God is the beginning and the end. Everything that sparks an emotion, whether it is music, dance, art, or even community only does so because it was made by people imbued with the image of the creator who was never created. People should be celebrated for their good work but to focus all the glory on human beings is like giving an award to a cake without ever mentioning the baker.

We were designed for worship, but if we don’t worship the only God who is worthy of that kind of praise, we will end up worshiping something. All too often our worship goes to created beings who only give us a minute glimpse into the majesty of the creator Himself. We worship money, power, and relationships. These things are neutral on their own, but outside the glory of God and empowerment of his people, they become destructive idols. What is perhaps even more twisted is that we take the very talents that God gave us for his glory and we worship them. We look at gifts that God has so generously shared with us and misassign our praise because we don’t understand our purpose. Instead of us to see those things and give glory to the God that brought them into existence, we somehow find a way to worship ourselves as the center of the universe, as if we have any control over how we got here or when we’ll leave. Because of our fallen nature, we seek joy in those things that have no joy to give. We don’t realize that the real fulfillment  comes from knowing the God behind the creation.

Creativity is not inherently good, it simply is. The good comes from God. He doesn’t need the permission of the artist to use the beauty of their work to give himself glory. He can get glory from anything and everything, even those things that were meant for bad. As the saying goes, “the devil is the devil but he’s God’s devil. 

C.S. Lewis put it like this 

“The moment you have a self at all, there is a possibility of putting yourself first - wanting to be the centre - wanting to be God, in fact. That was the sin of Satan: and that was the sin he taught the human race. Some people think the fall of man had something to do with sex, but that is a mistake...what Satan put into the heads of our remote ancestors was the idea that they 'could be like Gods' - could set up on their own as if they had created themselves - be their own masters - invent some sort of happiness for themselves outside God, apart from God. And out of that hopeless attempt has come...the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy.”

So although you probably won’t catch me describing myself as A Creative. I do see myself that way now. I refuse to hide the gifts that God gave me, because they’re not about me. They are about giving glory to the original creative. This year on The Light Point, God is giving me the Grace for New Beginnings. Living in the light means living a life in Christ that is so open and honest that it leaves no place for shame and fear to hide. Therefore, this year, I’m going to be more open with my creative talents. I will not let insecurities about what people might think stop me from pointing to the light of God. My security and identity doesn’t come from people so people can’t take it away. However, everything I do will be out of love for people. When I no longer need you to affirm me, I am free to love you more authentically. I am still a work in progress and that is okay. Even if the only person my work changes is me, this year I am walking in obedience. Not everything will be perfect but I will steward my gifts well. I have to, because they don’t belong to me. I’m just holding on to them for my father and I’ll use them the way he tells me to. Stay tuned for more writing, illustration, and video content all 2021. This year I am chasing after dreams that light my soul on fire because I have found the God that burns so brightly. This year, we’re living in the light.