Stargazing Creativity
I am not much of an artist. This was confirmed the night Kylah and I attended a public painting event. The price of admission included all the supplies we needed, and a skilled instructor was present to help us transition from blank canvas to masterpiece. A beautiful picture sat on an easel next to the instructor. He assured us that if we followed his instructions, our canvases would look like his in the end. I was nervous, but excited at the same time. The first step was to cover the entire canvas with black paint. If this is where the project ended, then you could call me Van Gogh. However, this was just step one. Step two required us to paint over the bottom half of the canvas with blue paint. After completing steps one and two, I was kind of feeling myself. Then, the instructions became a little interesting.
We had to hold the brushes at angles in order to stroke the canvas with a certain color. To achieve certain shapes, we needed to move the brush in odd motions. Creating depth perception demanded that we draw horizontal lines that decreased in size as we descended the canvas. Moreover, mixing colors made a mess. As I looked at my canvas and the instructors, I realized a major difference between him and me. I had an eye for beauty. He had an eye and a hand for beauty. I could see it, but he could see it and create it. Creativity is the use of the imagination or original ideas, especially in the production of an artistic work. Synonyms for creativity are innovation, imagination, and originality. Children are creative. They have the imaginative freedom and courage to create entire worlds in a living room. Their games betray their creativity and imagination as they play church, play doctor, and play house.
If we’re honest, we all have a measure of creativity. It is expressed in different ways, but everyone is creative. Creativity is a part of our human composition. It is one of innumerable connections between humanity and divinity. God gave us the capacity to be creative. We are creative because God is creative. Speaking of creativity, when is the last time you read the Creation account in Genesis 1? If you’ve never read it, pause and do so. If it has been a while, take a moment to review. Did anything pop out at you? Though a brief, poetic summary, it accomplishes its purpose of rooting our history in the genius of God’s creativity. One of my favorite lines is the last line of verse 16. “And He made the stars also.”
God made the stars?
God made the stars.
God made the stars!
This might seem like an insignificant detail, but it is packed with meaning. Those gaseous gems that twinkle and dance lightyears away send messages of hope and promise.
“Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls forth each of them by name. Because of His great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing." Isaiah 40:26
Friend, if God keeps track of the stars, then He surely has His eyes on you. “And He made the stars also.” Genesis 1:16