Blog Restoration of Creativity

By Jeff Turnbough

Creativity pours from God in multiple ways—from creation past to daily displays of wonder in nature and humankind. Created in His image, human beings have been endowed with a good measure of the same creativity. The arts, like all cultural endeavors, are a distinctly human activity. The diversity of cultural expressions of music, art, crafts, architecture, storytelling, etc. demonstrates the abundant measure of the God-given creativity humans possess. This expression of a God-given creativity finds rich expressions in every culture around the world. This is to be celebrated.

However, not all cultural expressions are good. Even this creativity, like all other areas of human reality, has been negatively impacted by human disobedience and rebellion. According to the Scriptures, the truth of God has been exchanged for a lie by humankind (Romans 1:23, 25). All of God's good gifts have been distorted, and this is true in all of humanity in all cultures. For this reason, we must exercise discernment when evaluating cultural expressions of human creativity. In the arts we can find wonderful and good expressions of human creativity. But, we can also encounter wicked and evil expressions of the same. This is true in both surface and deeper levels of any human culture. That is bad and sad news for life on planet earth. The world is not a perfect place, and therefore humans will always experience disappointment, suffering, sickness, and injustice.

The good news is that God is in the process of redeeming and restoring this fallen creation. According to passages of Scripture such as Colossians 1:20, God's desire is to bring us back into harmony with His original purpose. Part of that redemption is the restoration of creativity.

For this reason, the Church should be a group of people who reflect and demonstrate the creative beauty and diversity of the God who created and redeemed them (or is in the process of redeeming). In what ways can we reflect this creative beauty and diversity in the church? How about in areas such as music, drama, art, evangelism, teaching, relationships, styles of worship and celebration? When we think about the Church from this perspective, it seems that a lifeless, cold, ritualistic church is a poor testimony to the world of what should be the process of the restoration of creativity in God's people. Rather than question or, worse, malign Christians or local churches fully yielded to God and who attempt to reflect creative beauty and diversity, we should applaud and celebrate them. For worship to inspire awe is a good thing. For worship to be commonplace and non-creative could possibly reflect laziness and a lack of appreciation for the God we worship. How much time do we invest weekly thinking about how we can respond creatively in worship to a God who creatively dazzles us every day of our lives? How would this perspective change our local churches? How would it change our lives this week? May God continue His wonderful work of redemption in the area of the restoration of our creativity.

For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. Romans 8:20-21