Creativity: God's Gift; Our Delight!

“Creativity is  intelligence  having FUN”

Albert Einstein

For the second year in a row, our church offered a special children’s event at Christmas. The kids enjoyed breakfast, music, a Christmas story, and then visited interactive project tables where they could create unique items to give as gifts. 

After the kids finished, the volunteers had the opportunity to create something. So what did I do? I headed over to the robot-making table where I made a metallic creature out of a tin can. I glued on nuts, bolts, wires, beads, and buttons to give it a face and a personality. 

It is incredibly fun to engage in such creative play! Last year I made a short robot; one with straight antennas and pink eyes. I made her hair out of glue from the glue gun, gave her a jingle bell for a nose, and added sturdy antennas so she could pick up radio signals from outer space…ahhh, the world of imagination!

This year I made a large robot by starting with a textured can for the body. I added three bronze-colored feet, a cap with a visor made from metal nuts, and a red button nose.

These two robots, each with their distinctive look and “personality”, sit on my office bookshelf. When I turn my head and look at them, they remind me to smile and laugh.

It’s rather curious, actually: having these robots in my workspace - these simple, child-like creations -  helps me to pause in the midst of tasks and paperwork. They remind me of the fun I had making them…and they remind me that creativity is a significant aspect of life. 

I do believe there is a connection – a deep connection – between the act of creating something and “moving forward in the life of faith” (this blog’s tagline). Why? Because our God reveals himself in Scripture as one who creates. He generated our world and everything in it (Gen. 1-2).

I often think of the enjoyment he must have experienced as he produced the great variety we get to see and enjoy. A soft, downy chick…and a powerful, leathery rhinoceros. A delicate dandelion that blows away in the breeze…and a majestic redwood tree that endures for centuries. The sleek lines of a cheetah…and the oddity of a duck-billed platypus. 

What incredible creativity our God displays! 

Here’s what we often overlook, though: since we are made in his image, then we also have the ability to create. Each and every one of us. In fact, whenever we create something – whatever it might be – we give glory to our creator. We honor him by engaging in creative activities, just as he did when he made the universe. 

Furthermore, since we have been wired by God to create, then creating is good for us. Our lives actually are enhanced by our own creative acts. 

Now, I’m not sure that making another tin-can robot is in my future. It may not be in yours. However, I know that taking time to pause and delight in creating something – just for the fun of it – is good for my soul. 

And yours. 

Who knows what you might create if you took some time to play? Give yourself permission to mold with clay, to paint a rock, to cut and fold paper, to write a poem. 

Enjoy the pleasure of making something. Anything. Use your God-given intelligence to have fun in a creative way…and experience the pleasure of the Heavenly Father as you use the creative gifts he has given you.

Let me pray for you. Dear God, thank you for placing within us your creative spirit. Help those reading this blog to be willing to pause and create; not driven by the demands of a perfect finished product, but simply taking time to enjoy the process of making something new. In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.