On Earth As It Is in Heaven: Stewards of Creativity

One of the greatest stories ever told began with these words: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). The first time I heard those words, I imagined myself surrounded by darkness in the midst of a huge void, and for a moment, time and space stood still. In the distance, I heard the sound of water stirring and felt a breeze brush past my face. The sound harmoniously blended with the hovering of a divine presence. Suddenly, I heard a voice say, “Let there be light” (Gen. 1:3), and the vast darkness was overtaken by a bright and glorious light. As the voice continued to speak, it was as if a beautiful masterpiece unfolded before my eyes.

The creation story is where we insert ourselves into God’s story, see our God-like nature unfold, and discover our humanity. In the powerful Genesis narrative, we find God’s purpose for our existence. What, exactly, does it mean to be made in God’s image and likeness? And how do we discern our call as God’s workmanship, created to do good work here on earth?

Embracing Our Uniqueness

Faith is the very underpinning of our belief and the foundation of our love relationship with the Creator. It is the basis by which we hold the truth of the gospel to be evident in our daily lives. Work is the innate and functional ability to live out our God-likeness. Through work, we dream, create and act.

In Genesis, God commanded us to “be fruitful and multiply.” We were designed with the ability to create and produce. Many of us may think this command was only given to us for the purpose of procreation. I challenge you to see it in a new way.

All of God’s creation was given the ability to reproduce in some form or fashion. What makes our existence unique is that we were made in his image and likeness; therefore, we have the ability to create. This gift comes with the responsibility of stewardship.

We Are His Creative Expression

The ability to create is a supernatural connection between our earthly nature and our heavenly intertwining with the Holy Spirit. We cooperatively engage in seeing heaven brought to earth as we continue to yield to the guidance of the Spirit. In Ephesians, when Paul said we were God's workmanship, I believe he was saying that we are His carefully imagined creative expression. We are hand-crafted to become everything He envisioned.

Every day, we are given the gift of life, which fuels our God-like nature to create and imagine. Our daily ability to engage in this spiritual reality is manifested as we walk out our vocation, whatever that is. Growing up, I inferred that a true vocation—or calling—only existed if it compelled us to forsake the work of the world for the work of the cross. Since then, I’ve matured in my faith, and now understand that His vision is far greater than our segmented way of thinking. His will—“exceedingly abundantly, above all that we can ask or think, according the power that work with us” (Eph. 3:20)—is made evident when we remove ourselves from this type of spiritual entrapment and take the limits off.

By discerning our call cooperatively, we allow Him to restore us to our true purpose. When we allow our creative ability to flow as God designed, our lives exemplify the very words Jesus prayed: “your kingdom come and your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10).

Featured image by Diane Bailey. Used with Permission. Source via Flickr.