Hanging on the Wall

Remember what it felt like to create a picture in school for your Mom? While you were creating your masterpiece in all your pride you thought, “Wow! I hope Mommy loves this!” After you completed your project and perfected it just the way you liked, you couldn’t wait to show it off and present Mommy with the gift you had made. Bolting off the school bus and into the door of the house as if it were the last door you’d ever open, you ran inside and yelled, “Lookie! Lookie, Mommy, Lookie! Lookie at what I’ve made for you!”

You just couldn’t wait for her to see it. After all, this gift took all your time and carried your best effort.This was far more than a drawing- rather, invested time, careful thought, particular attention, and a genuine desire to put a smile on Mommy’s face – all to create a classic, one-of-a-kind piece of art fashioned specifically from your heart. You couldn’t help but eagerly await her response, watching carefully as she examined what you made for her probably pondering questions like, Will she really like it? Will she treasure it? Will she display it for all to see? But more importantly, Will this be good enough to make the refrigerator?

When we were younger I fondly recall my older sister- exuberant, boisterous, and overall charismatic in nature, cheerfully running after Grandma saying “Gramma, look! Lookie, Gramma! Lookie!” Her idea of getting Gram’s attention always made me smile. But the question that always ran through my mind was what was so important that she wanted Gramma to see right away? Only a young, little goober, I couldn’t fathom any logical reason for Gramma to stop making my favorite homemade pizza and come see Shannon’s surprise. I mean, who did my sister think she was that she could interrupt Gramma at this oh-so-important time?

Unbeknownst to me, it was a marvelous sight to say the least- a variety of different shapes, colors and sizes. It was her favorite toy and biggest joy - a unique stack of leggos displaying the peak of her creativity. She wanted Gram to see just how she lined them up, stacked them and formed them into a building. She wanted Gram to share in the joy of what she made. And why wouldn’t she? It wasn’t about the leggos. It was about someone taking delight in her creativity and sharing what she made with someone else. As Gram excitedly looked on I noticed her smiling, like she was delighted to pull Shannon’s imagination from the leggos. There was no doubt about it, Gram was enjoying her granddaughter with the highest level of joy and remained, for quite a while, astonished at her granddaughter’s creative little mind.

This type of delightfulness is oh so characteristic of Jesus. In the same way Gram looked on and was joyful over my sister’s display of leggos, Jesus delights in his creativity of you! His intent is not simply to enjoy us Himself, but for others to be blessed by the creativity He's given us. Our creativity is covered with purpose. When we discover, acknowledge and utilize the gifts that have been given to us we bring glory to the Father. The most poignant factor of all, though, and the sole purpose of having gifts is the fact that they are given to us for the benefit of others. This is why it’s so exciting to grow in gifts – God moves powerfully through the mouths, hands and bodies of His children and since each of us is given at least one gift, according to the Word of God, it’s our duty to seek Him and discover what that gift is. Once it’s discovered, we can ask Him to help us grow so that we can use the gift for His purpose. It begins, however, with an understanding of His love for us.

One spring afternoon as my dreaming carried me away, I pictured an image that parallels purposely with the message of Christ’s delight in us. On a plain, beige wall above a couch hung a beautifully crafted, hand-made tapestry of fine, quality art. Its beauty stirred up adoration and it hung there with elegance, causing every object in the room to beam with sheer radiance. The painting was dynamically composed of bright and subtle colors, covered in different textures and saturated with vision. It was woven together with such beauty that every eye was glued and in awe from just one glance.
The significance of this piece of art is that it’s you and I! It’s the very piece of art, created at the peak of our Master’s excitement and creativity that God wants to display to the world and say, “Lookie! Lookie at what I’ve made!”

We’re designed to bring Him glory and he does this through creativity! As Christ’s ambassadors and Regents representing a King, and just like the painting in my dream, our love for Him should speak in and of itself, primarily before a word ever comes out of our mouths. It’s what some people like to call preaching the gospel without words. It’s also an opportune time to think about and apply the common phrase “actions speak louder than words.” Or, in this case, “creativity speaks louder than words.” This picture of creativity was His design and it’s the glory of transformation! Halleluiah!

The heart of the matter is that God has raised us up for the purpose of demonstrating His power through us. We have a higher calling! Almighty God purchased us at the highest price, drenched us with His grace and transformed us inside out in order to plant charisma in our spirit that engages the spirit of those around us. We are destined for greatness and to bring out the greatness in other people. Creativity is a significant piece to God’s plan of salvation manifested in Matthew 28. It’s the essence of His character. He’s a creative God, who’s got way more experience than we will ever have – He’s been at this for countless years! So let’s get out of the driver seat, move to the passenger seat and begin obeying the yield sign! If you first desire Him, step out and follow Him He’ll be sure to show you where His peak of creativity was when creating you! Those gifts will begin to become evident and dreams of what to do with them will begin to surface in your heart. God wants to show you off! He’s created you at the height of His creative symphony and plans to show His power and receive glory through a display of YOU.