The Struggle of Creativity

Writing is hard. Just the other day I sat at my computer, a story in my head that I wanted to put down on paper. By the time I walked away the screen I had less then a page, an incomplete scene. The story was still in my head but I couldn't seem to get it on the page, at least not completely. Instead I walked away with just a partial image. And yet the next day I went back to that page to try again. Why do we do it? Why do we struggle with this thing we call art?

Painters do it every time they step up to a canvas, writers do it, dancers and performers do it when they walk on to a stage, woodworkers do it when they pick up a board, all artists do it. Many artists describe it as almost a compulsion, they can't not create. And those who aren't artists also have a need or a desire to enjoy art. There's something magical about connecting to a performance, a song, a picture that stimulates your emotions or transports you to a different time or place.

What is it? Why do we create? Why do we enjoy the creativity of others? Why do we find that, throughout history, there have been artists and those who've appreciated their work?

I believe the first part of that answer is found in Genesis 1:27, "So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them."

We were created by a creative God. And we were created in His image. I believe that's where that desire to create comes from. And as for the appreciation of creativity Genesis 1:31 says "God saw that he had made, and it was very good..." God didn't just create us and our world and everything in it then ignore it, He saw it, I think maybe He studied it like an painter studies a painting, but unlike us human artists He didn't see imperfections because His creation was perfect, and He saw that. So He stepped back and saw that it was good.

But here's the rest of the equation in Galatians 6:5 The Voice says "each person has his or her own burden to hear and story to write." The Message words it a bit differently "each of you must take responsibility for fulfilling the creative best you can with your own life."

We've all been made in God's image, we've all been given this desire to create and an appreciation for creativity. Sometimes it's creating things like stories or pictures or a performance, sometimes it's different. Finding ways to creatively teach so different kids can finally connect with the lesson. Finding ways to create a dinner for your family or organize your house is another form of creativity.

Colossians 3:23 says, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters..."

What has God given you to create today? Are you struggling to create something? Don't give up, keep going back to that paper, that canvas, that stage, or that stove, or classroom, wherever it is that God has given you to be creative with remember, that desire came from the Lord and do all things unto Him.