Entry 06: Speaking Creativity
I have been in a season of feeling this growing hunger to know and be more aware of the spirit of creativity. I want to glean from this God Creator, who speaks a language of sheer poetry through what He creates. He has been saying some deep things in some amazing creative ways and I wonder if there are not more like me who have been listening. The one language we together understand as spectators, is Artistry. We are all entertained by movies, ballets, concerts, art galleries, etc. We all love a good book and a great DIY/HGTV episode. Most of us actually crave creative insight. We want to be able to remodel our kitchens even if we don't own a screw driver! It is in us to want to transform and be transformed. You see, I believe we have entered a greater season of creative expression both in and outside the church. The unfortunate thing is that church culture can sometimes see creativity as something the younger generation has or a department in our building’s, as opposed to what it really is. It's a language we all should be speaking. It’s a stretch though for many to see it as a language. Especially if you have never believed you could speak it.
In Genesis 1, God does not set up a canvas and squeeze paints on a board and begin to paint the universe. He does not use construction paper to make a model and try to sell it to heaven as a “great idea.” He uses His voice. He simply uses His voice to create. He speaks creation, into existence. There is paragraph after paragraph where it reads, “And God said,” over and over. So, if the voice of God can speak literal creation into existence then the epicenter for all creativity, I believe, is like language. Have you ever heard anyone say, “I do not have a creative bone in my body?” I myself, have uttered those horrific words before. If we see in others, something that we doubt we could ever accomplish ourselves, we begin limiting our creative intake. We have checked the "no" box and opt out of believing we have what others seem to easily come by. It might just be that those "others" spent less time doubting and more time creating and that is why it comes to them easier. Just because we do not have an ability to sing, play an instrument or decorate cookies at Christmas time, is not an excuse to curse our creativity with phrases that seem harmless, but can create a deep thread of unbelief in us.
You see, If God spoke the ground we walk on into existence and yet, it is man He came to redeem and have relationship with, what does man have that draws God the most? The trees can stand tall and powerful providing us oxygen, the ocean can be vast and mighty, but neither of them can evangelize a soul and invite it into communion with God. Man, however can. So, God speaks, using His voice to create and then reaches down with His hands to do the same in the making of man and woman. He gives them dominion over His creation. How then have we not been put here to mimic God and bring Him glory? How is God Himself creative after He creates? He parts a massive Red Sea. He has manna fall from the sky. He brings fire upon the alter. It goes on and on and on. His son Jesus takes over and has His own creative show of gifts in the New Testament.
I believe that God wants us to speak His language. He wants us to begin speaking life and belief over our ability's so He can fan the fire and use us for greater things. We cannot cage creativity and box it in corners of what we think is creative. What burns in your heart? If it is being a homeschooling mother, how then can you ask God to show you creative ways to parent and raise your kids? If you want to sing, draw, dance, pastor, evangelize, how are you speaking over your life a belief for those things to cultivate and expand? We cannot bind creative expression to a cultural system of what we deem creative. Most creative vocations can be taught, or learned, but a desire for it has to fuel the fire. One definition in the dictionary describes creativity as “The state or quality of being.” The way a pastor teaches or the way a doctor operates and saves a life is creative to his or her potential just as much as a songwriter writing a song. Honoring how each of us speaks our language is key.
God is stirring the waters of creative expression. He is moving on the arts and calling people to rise up and speak life into what they do. Be careful how you speak the doubts over your abilities. Turn the music up. Dream without a ceiling. Color your life with words of hope and not words of death and doubt. The Creator is stirring hearts to speak a language He himself designed. He is up to something wonderful.