Creativity: What You Need to Know

Creativity is the most misunderstood gift I know. Students, coworkers, and even casual acquaintances regularly inform me that they lack the creative spark. Most, if not all, have a misconception of creativity as if it were a rare commodity that only a few wild-eyed writers and crazy-haired artists possess. The truth is that as beings made in the image of God, we are all creatives. We must start with creation, as described in Genesis, to understand who we are.

In the beginning, God said let there be light.

I think it is worth noting that light already existed before this moment. After all, God is light, himself, as scripture indicates. But the calling of light into a dark void is both an act of warfare and illumination. Let me explain. Light is a metaphor for revelation. We see the light, and understanding comes to our minds and hearts. It is also a symbol of goodness dispelling the evils hidden in the dark. So who brings light to our world?

The teachers, for one. Scientists, as well, are often the first to claim a lack of creativity. But they explore the unknown, making it knowable. But those who bring illumination to the minds of others participate in creation as surely as poets. Preachers often bring light, as do good counselors helping the hurting understand their past. The act of revealing what was once hidden is the first work of creation.

And how about our reformers? Those who uncover dark deeds or societal injustices? The abolitionists were involved in creating a new day of justice and freedom. The truth always holds hands with the light.

God’s next creative act was to bring order.

He separated the land from the water and the day from the night, beginning the rhythm of time and season that bring discipline and organization to our lives. This post is a shout-out to all of the managers, organizers, planners, cleaners, gardeners, and more. Engineers, who rarely describe themselves as creative, bring order to our cities and homes. Even scientists engaged in the detailed work of classification bring order to the known world, making information accessible and quantifiable.

How I wish I had more of that kind of creativity. Technically gifted people seldom describe themselves as creative, yet we rely on the order they bring. I have difficulties organizing a drawer, much less the disorder our world dishes out.

After all this, God begins the work of creating flora and fauna. But another act of creativity happens that is easy to miss. God creates humans to have relationships: with himself, animals, and one another. The act of loving another person is one of creation. We are co-creators with God by virtue of the fact that we go forth and multiply. Humans create relationships where there are none, as did the Father of lights.

And faith is an act of creation.

We are each given a measure of this, the Bible tells us. And what is faith?

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Through faith, we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. Hebrews 11: 1, 3

I believe that the prayer of faith is itself a creative act. We pray health into the sick, belief into the unbeliever, and peace for the tormented. God calls each of us to bring the kingdom of Heaven to earth, creativity realizing its most fundamental purpose.

We each have redemptive gifts with which to serve the body. Prophets inspire, healers bring life, exhorters encourage, etc. Yet, we cut ourselves off from a world of possibility when we exclude creativity from our self-assessments. So, step into your role as a co-creator with the Father himself. Say to the darkness in your families, let there be light! Participate in creation by speaking the truth and bringing order into the chaos. Create love and relationship wherever you go. And most of all, create an atmosphere that welcomes the Holy Spirit through the prayer of faith over your home, workplace, and even your own soul.

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