Embracing Divine Creativity in Everyday Life

In the beginning God creates he is extending his kingdom and then he makes you in His image to have dominion you are made to be creative to innovate to dream to make novel connections to bring a unique stamp into this world doesn't have to be dramatic or look big but it is you that is extending your Little Kingdom so often people think of spirituality as well I'm just supposed to color inside the lines and kind of give robotic uh obedience and they forget people forget how much God loves it when you're creative. [00:01:13]

The very first time in the Bible that it talks about God filling somebody with a spirit it's not to preach it's not to heal it's not to govern it's not to prophesy it's to do artwork it's to be creative because God loves it when we're creating now you may be saying I'm not creative folks who do research in this area distinguish between Big C creativity Beethoven Van Gogh somebody like that and literacy creativity for people like you and me. [00:02:46]

How do you write this email how do you fix this meal how do you decorate a room how do you greet somebody how do you put on your God fills us with his spirit so that we can create something that wouldn't have existed if it wasn't for us and we long for that every little child knows that they're creative because that's part of God's thumbprint on every life. [00:03:13]

And in many ways was born it started apparently in the Bronx when DJ Cool hurt did a little back to school party for his sister and brought a couple of record players and out of a culture that involved a lot of Oppression and a lot of poverty came uh the hip-hop movement I was reading a fascinating article called hip-hop hermeneutics by a guy named Douglas Ratcliffe about how our appreciation for God and His concern and his passion for justice can be seen through fresh and creative eyes out of hip-hop culture. [00:04:46]

And in this story niggle is an artist in a little village and he has a vision much bigger than him he wants to paint a tree the greatest most beautiful most vibrant inspiring tree that has ever been captured to have it stand in front of a vast forest in a great mountain range ends up with this enormous mule with ladders it's such a great vision but he can't get much done on it partly it's because he's such a perfectionist he's never satisfied with any detail and partly his kiss he's the kind of guy that's easily interrupted. [00:06:29]

Eventually one day he ends up in a place that we might think of as heaven and he's riding his bicycle and he sees something that is so stunning to him that it makes him fall off his bike here's what Tolkien wrote before him stood the tree history finished if you could say that of a tree that was alive its leaves opening its branches growing and bending In The Wind that niggle had so often felt or gassed and had so often failed to catch he gazed at the tree and slowly he lifted his arms and opened them wide. [00:07:36]

Once or twice in your life you may feel like you finally gotten a leaf out whatever your work you need to know this there really is a tree now in the Bible the tree is called Shalom God's Great project whatever you are seeing in your work the city of justice and peace the world of Brilliance and beauty the order the healing it is there there is a God there is a future healed world and your work is showing it in part to others so don't you give up on that world because it's your work is a part of what God is doing. [00:08:37]

There is a great artist at work you were made to be creative doesn't have to be Big C kimpy little C but don't get stuck in a rut today this is the only time today is ever going to happen and you are the only you that's ever going to walk through your life so do something to spark that creative impulse image aliveness inside you the Bible says sing to the Lord a new song Today sing a song to God if you don't have a good voice go where nobody can hear you and just sing. [00:10:48]

And that creates uh creativity inside us writes something and don't worry about anybody looking at it just write words to God or words that Express the song of your soul or Draw Something or wear something today that's going to be at least a little bit on the creative side so somebody will say I like those pants write creatively an email to somebody else the way that you decorate a room the way that you fix a meal today you are bringing the goodness and newness and uniqueness of your little kingdom. [00:11:18]

Hover for a moment in Genesis 1 2 it says that uh before God created the spirit hovered over the deep and I think about that there's a wonderful book called orbiting the giant hairball about working with creative people and the author says that with creative types they're kind of like cows where they spend most of the day just standing in the field eating grass looks like they're not doing much but milk's Gonna Come and so that's the process just spend some time today in wonder and allow yourself the permission to create. [00:12:10]

Be again like a little child because it's the only way to enter the Kingdom of Heaven change is coming today. [00:12:29]

And he did this after the great pain of 9 11. he was actually trapped underground and said it was miraculous thing that he was able to survive so he was not able to do much work and the pain after that this one painting he got started and he said he wasn't able to finish it but the watermarks were such that over time they emerged more and more until 22 years later the painting had kind of finished itself and it is today in a museum in Shanghai. [00:10:14]