creativity we had inside us as kids, the one that set every idea on fire with possibility, fades to ember. And in some of us— most of us, maybe— it’ s gone out completely.
Friends, that is not what God intends.
An infinitely creative God created us. And God continues to be creative in us, so that we can be creative— in his name— for the sake of the world.
Our call to express ourselves through a lifestyle of creativity is like someone turning on every light in a house at sunset. You’ ve walked or driven past houses that are all lit up, right? What’ s cool about them is that we can’ t help but stare! There’ s something attractive and compelling about a glowing house in a dark neighborhood.( The Bible uses a similar image, by the way, but I’ ll let you find those examples on your own if you’ re curious.)
When we give up on living lives of creative expression, it’ s like we’ re turning out the lights. We’ re not talking about some lonely, isolated, creative genius brooding off in a cabin somewhere. We’ re talking about real, everyday life. See, creativity and self-expression, which are part of how God designed us to live, are about better loving God and loving our neighbors.
Creativity begins inside, but it’ s not meant to stay there. Creativity is a blessing from God, through us, for the world. And it breaks my heart to write this, but in the fifteen-plus years I’ ve been part of various Christian churches in America, I have never once heard someone preach that truth.
You can rediscover the artist that God created you to be.
Think about that. We’ re not talking about if you’ re an artist or about if God designed you to be creative. Those things are already true, for all of us. Instead, we’ re going to look at the how and the why. And we’ re going to do more than satisfy our longing for creativity and selfexpression.
We’ re going to join God’ s Spirit in transforming everything!
Daniel Fusco is the lead pastor of Crossroads Community Church, which has campuses in Vancouver, Washington and Portland, Oregon. He is a conference speaker, a jazz musician, and the author of Honestly. He lives in Washington with his wife, Lynn, and their three children.
Adapted from Upward, Inward, Outward by Daniel Fusco. Copyright © 2017. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
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