The Courage to Create

Have you ever heard a sermon so compelling that you drove sixteen hours to thank the pastor in person for how his words changed your life? My friend Kristin Joy Taylor has. One Sunday, a pastor from Mansfield, Ohio by the name of Jerry King was guest preaching at Taylor’s home church in Tampa, Florida. From the pulpit he shared, “God presents himself in the Bible first of all as the Creator God. He could have begun this story in lots of different ways, but the place he chose to say ‘Human beings, this is who I am, I want you to know this about me first,’ is here: I am the Creator God.”

 

Those words brought a leap to Kristin Joy’s spirit and tears to her eyes. “All my life, I always knew I was creative, but there was no validity for my creative work being a calling from God. Creativity was kind of always on the fringes,” she said. “That sermon gave me a huge validation in my spirit that creativity is not a fringe thing, but it is central and of infinite worth, because we are made in the image of God.” A few weeks later, Kristin Joy and her friend drove sixteen hours to Mansfield, Ohio to thank Pastor King in person for how his words had changed their lives, giving them biblically-based courage to create.

 

Why did this sermon stir up such a radical response from these two women? I think it’s because that in the Church, we often hear that God is loving, holy, omnipotent, sovereign, just, merciful, and faithful. But we rarely, if ever, hear that God is creative and entrepreneurial. In my book, Called to Create, I outline three biblical truths that should make Christians the boldest, most courageous entrepreneurs and culture-creators in the world.

 

1. We worship the Creator God.

 

As King pointed out in the sermon above, the very first thing that God reveals to us in Scripture is that he is creative. But it’s not just in Genesis that we see God’s creative character. Look also at the life of Jesus who spent eighty-five percent of his working life as a creative carpenter and small business owner. Jesus came to earth to be “the image of the invisible God” (Col. 1:15), revealing God’s character through human speech and mannerisms. In just three years of public ministry, Jesus revealed countless characteristics about his Father. To the woman at the well, Jesus showed us that God is omniscient. To the five thousand, Jesus showed us that God is our provider. To Lazarus, Jesus showed us that God is the giver of life. If Jesus was able to reveal so much of God’s character in such a relatively short period of time, the fact that Jesus spent twenty years revealing God’s creative and entrepreneurial spirit through his work as a carpenter should stop us in our tracks.

 

2. We have been called to create.

 

What God created in the first six days is astonishing. But what’s equally remarkable is what he did not create. He created animals, but he didn’t give them names. He created land, but he didn’t create irrigation systems. He created stars, but he didn’t create an iPhone app that would allow us to hold a computer up to the sky to see them all by name. After working for six days, God left the earth largely undeveloped and uncultivated. He created a canvas and then invited us to join him in filling it. “God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him” (Gen. 1:27). The dominant characteristic God has revealed about himself up until this point in Scripture is that he is creative. So when human beings are created “in his own image” the logical implication is that they will be characterized by the creativity of their Creator God, who uses his first words to humankind to issue an explicit call to create, commanding humankind to “fill the earth and subdue it” (Gen. 1:28). This means much more than just procreation. God created us to be co-creators with him, to create new things for the good of others. God is calling us to have the courage to create.

 

3. We have nothing to lose.

 

The Creator God has called us to create, but he has not necessarily called us to what the world would define as “success”. The fear of failure is holding so many Christians back from creating cultural goods that can be used to reveal God’s character, love others, and make disciples of Jesus Christ. Before Jesus began to create a public movement, his Father said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.” For those of us who are trusting in Christ alone for our salvation, we can take comfort in God the Father speaking those same words over us. This security should make us the boldest entrepreneurs and creators on the planet! Without our ultimate hope in Christ, failure is terrifying. But with it, you can have the courage to say that whatever your lot—epic success, massive failure, or something in between—it is well with your soul. In the words of Jerry King in the sermon cited above, “If you are one who has a greater amount of creativity in you, you have a place at the table of God’s people and of humanity. You’re valid. Step up. Bring what you’ve got. Don’t you dare hold back. Not cringing back, not with arrogant pride, with sane humility bring your stuff. Other people need it.”