For we are His workmanship [His own master work, a work of art], created in Christ Jesus [reborn from above, spiritually transformed, renewed, ready to be used] for good works, which God prepared [for us] beforehand [...], so that we would walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us]. - Eph. 2, 10 (AMP)
“I’m not creative” – I still remember the moment sitting in my former bosses’ office, complaining about myself. I remember me saying things like: ‘I don’t have good ideas’, ‘I always do things the same way’, ‘I'm not good enough’, and so on. – That was more than 20 years ago, and it was a lie I spoke over my life. Fortunately, my former boss had a different perspective and convinced me that my perception was wrong. He reminded me of concrete examples where I had demonstrated creativity and such made a difference and valuable contribution to the team. – In hindsight, I have recognized that my complaint was probably an indication of a deeper desire to enhance and broaden my creative thinking.
There’s a difference between being an artist and being creative. My wife is a gifted visual artist, she paints beautiful pictures that touch peoples’ hearts. I could never paint like this. But there are other forms of creativity I relate to, for example in the context of plugging in to my creative drive to problem-solving. A couple of weeks ago I experienced that when I sat in my office and asked God for a creative solution to a concrete problem. I asked Him to please help me within the next 5 minutes (I wanted to go to lunch) - He showed me His answer after 3 minutes. God is good.
According to Merriam-Webster.com, being creative (\krē-‘ā-tiv\) means having or showing an ability to make new things or think of new ideas. When we invent and develop original or unusual ideas or use something in a new way that leads to interesting and unusual results, e.g. in our everyday working practices, we demonstrate creative thinking. "Your calling as a human is to live a creative life", says Justina Stevens. Creativity is a pathway to discover our dreams and calling, i.e. walk in the good works God has prepared for us - see Eph. 2,10. We are invited to do this by partnering with the Creator of all things and making use of His godly wisdom. Tapping into our creative abilities will have an impact on our true identity. Jeremy Riddle explains: "Creativity holds key to our identity. There is a part of us that we will never unlock until we endeavor to create."
Prompt: "I’m (not) creative" is not an ability statement, it’s an identity statement. - What does that mean for you? What will you do to discover your identity by acting out your creativity?
