Talent best recognised in how we use it not how much we have

Dr Bruce Manners
Senior minister
Avondale College Seventh-day Adventist Church

The first time we meet God in the Bible (first sentence), He’s at His creative best: forming, shaping and styling the heavens and the earth. Then He says, “Let us make humans in our image.” While theologians have developed deep ways of describing what the image of God means, it includes creativity.

We’re born to be creative.

Of course, we’re creative to varying degrees. Besides, our creativity is best recognised in how we use it rather than how much we have.

In the olde days (before “olde” became “old”), creativity and God seemed a natural fit. Creativity built grand cathedrals, painted masterpieces and composed monumental music.

Not so today. There’s much more creativity outside the church. Worse, creative people within can feel they’re considered with suspicion rather than embraced with joy.

How sad.

We who are Christian seek guidance in the Word, claim to have truth, but then tend to dress them in funereal tones. How odd. One would think that discovering answers to life’s big questions would lead to dancing and singing and outbursts of yahoo-ing (or at least an “amen” or two).

Sombre tones are understandable if the Word and truth are seen merely as text in a book. But the revelation in the text is that the Word and the truth have come to life in the person of Jesus. How good is that? How creative is that?

We who are followers of Jesus need to see His creativity. You find it in His miracles, His clever word play, His humour, His storytelling. And His throwing the moneychangers out of the temple makes for great teaching theatre.

We who are followers of Jesus need to embrace and rejoice in our God-given creativity whatever its form. We’re born to be creative.