From the beginning, we were given the gift of creativity.

Creativity is a birthright.

This thought from Melissa Helser in Cultivate: Creativity Unlocked has stuck with me since the moment I first read it. I know God to be the great Creator, the original designer of all things and yet, I often neglect to embrace that creativity has been handed down to me.  To you. Into all of us who call ourselves sons and daughters of God.   

Back to the beginning

A return to Genesis 1 and we receive the first revelation of God’s character, a glimpse into who He is at His very being. 

In the beginning, God CREATED……

By the end of Genesis 1, we haven’t received any other revelation of God’s character:  He is Love. God as Redeemer. Jesus as a Friend or brother.  The entirety of all existence rests on the core truth that God is a Creator.  God makes the heavens and the earth. His voice is heard, calling the light Day and the darkness Night. 

He separated the waters into specific seas and dry land rises between the waters. He speaks to the dry land and raises up plants with seeds, fruit-bearing trees, and all kinds of varieties of green growth. God makes the Sun, rising to oversee the Day and the Moon, surrounded by the stars, to illuminate the night sky.  The Creator turns his attention to the waters and fills them with various sea creatures to swim in His waters. 

His imagination continues to come to life as the air is filled with flying birds in magnificent colors and sizes.  His voice shifts to the land and He creates livestock, reptiles, bugs and all wild animals. I remember taking my daughters to the zoo as little girls. They would stand at every exhibit and point out to me the uniqueness of the creatures.  “Look at the way his tail moves!  Did you see the color of his eyes? I’ve never heard a sound like that before.  Whoa! Did you see the way the polar bear glides under the water? And then he also creeps about on all four legs over the rocks?”  We would stand in awe of the creativity that formed those incredible creatures out of nothing. 

We weren’t  just overtaken by the beauty of creation, we were overwhelmed by the imagination of the Creator.

Made to be like Him

At the pinnacle of His making, God speaks this idea into reality: “Let us make mankind in our image, after our likeness.” While all of creation reflects the beauty and imagination of God, we are the only aspect of creation made in His image.  What characteristic of God has been revealed so far? God is a Creator.  His intention was to make mankind to be like Him: to create.  Mankind was made last and yet given authority over all the other creatures that were made before. God’s first command to them?  Be fruitful and multiply.  Let the creative work continue through you. Let your life bear fruit, produce something that is good.  And make more image bearers, who will be marked by this creative expression of Myself.  

Then, God steps back from all that He has made and declares, His creation is VERY good. 

Intertwined with fully embracing the depth of God’s love for us is being able to fully embrace the truth that He made us.  The original designer Himself formed together the very unique expression of YOU!  Your identity, when you are living from your truest self, He declares is good.  But also, because we are made to be like Him, He hands us a gift (the first of many): the gift of creativity.

You were made to create.

Next week, I’ll share my thoughts on what hinders us from stepping into this gift of creativity.  For today, a few questions to think or journal on this week:

1. When you think of making something or being creative, what are some activities that come to mind?
2. What is something that you remember you loved spending time doing as a child?
3. If you had an entire day to spend making or creating, how would you spend that time?