The Creative Spark In You

I was having a conversation my little brother the other day, and I explained to him that I needed to come up with some creative arty stuff/ ideas, to wrap around some work I am currently involved in. I explained that everything I thought or was thinking off, somehow, did not seem to be the right fit, I needed some help. So, I promptly asked him to start thinking up some ideas, we could discuss. I was in need of some inspiration! He went quiet for a few minutes and then said,
"well I am not the creative, or arty type; I don't do arty stuff, I leave that all to you guys". I was like "come on, you should have some sort of idea, everyone has a creative dimension to their thinking, whether we think it's suitable or not is another question, come on, think of something". But alas, to my despair, my dear brother would not budge and that was the end of that conversation! Grrrrrr!!!

I forgot about the conversation, until yesterday, when I had to read up on some reference scriptures in the book of Genesis... and then I thought..., well according to who God is and according to who we are in Him, we all have a CREATIVE SPIRIT instilled within us!!! So here goes, this is what I thought, learnt and much more...

The dictionary defines creativity as "the ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations, etc.; originality, progressiveness, or imagination: the need for creativity in modern industry; creativity in the performing arts"

This reveals to me that, as long as we have the power of imagination (which we all do), we can ignite that creative spark within us, we can embrace our creativeness. Also, it explains further that, creativity is not mainly art (which is what most of us seem to translate it as), but it can refer to anything such as speech (e.g he/she has a creative way of speaking, or addressing an audience), dressing (he/she has a creative way of putting clothe items together), even friendship (he/she has an original way or idea or ability of networking, making friends or developing relationships).

Now, lets look into the origin of creativity and it's usefulness.

Genesis 1:1 reads : "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" That statement in itself holds the key to all creativeness.

Try this, wake up early one the morning, camp on the inside or outside of your bedroom window or balcony, or porch and watch the day unfold. It's a marvellous sight to behold. The way the clouds move around in orchestrated rhythm, to take their place for the day; giving way to the mornings' first light, and the way the day unravels itself, taking shape and form, is simply and truly amazing. It's like a work of art in motion. But guess what, that's just a glimpse of God's creative ability, his creative power, his creative awesomeness.

He made the heavens and the earth. The heavens - the stars, the moon and the sun.... He made the earth - the waters the fish and the sea and much more.

Genesis 1:6 shows us more depth of God's creativeness, like a painter who draws a sketch and then starts to fill in the details to present a much more detailed picture. It reads " Then God said, “Let there be a space between the waters, to separate the waters of the heavens from the waters of the earth." Imagine that!

When God made Adam, he gave him that same creative spirit. In Genesis 2: 6 - 7 God created Adam and breathed his living breath (which is part of him) into Adam. It reads "6 Instead, springs[b] came up from the ground and watered all the land. 7 Then the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person."

Adam, was made in God's image, which means he had all of God's nature, and that includes the essence of creativity. This we see Adam demonstrate in Genesis 2: 19 - 20, when he named all the living creatures God made. He didn't go to school to learn this, neither did God teach him, he already had God's creative spirit in him and simply expressed it. That passage reads " 19 Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him.

Let's think about it for a minute; How did Adam know to name Giraffe (the name oh-so fits), and lion, tiger, ant and crocodile!!! Amazing isn't it.

Just like Adam and Bezalel, son of Uri in Exodus 31:1 - 4, I believe God's creative spirit resides in each and every one of us. Exodus 31: 1 -4 (for completeness) reads: 1 Then the Lord said to Moses, 2 “Look, I have specifically chosen Bezalel son of Uri, grandson of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. 3 I have filled him with the Spirit of God, giving him great wisdom, ability, and expertise in all kinds of crafts. 4 He is a master craftsman, expert in working with gold, silver, and bronze. 5 He is skilled in engraving and mounting gemstones and in carving wood. He is a master at every craft!

We simply need and have to awaken our imagination and ignite that creative spirit within us, set it free and into motion. I believe our creativeness is to help us along, as we strive to accomplish our calling, our assignment and move towards our destiny.

So, here is me encouraging us all to be all we can be with our creative self, and have an awesome time doing and being it too! Conjure up creative ways to help that project, piece of work, or situation get off the ground; setting it into motion for breakthrough results.

Whatever you do, however you do it, don't forget to make God- the ultimate creative one, famous along the way.

To conclude the opening story, after telling my brother about this, he came up with quite a few GOOD suggestions!!!!! All coming from someone who "doesn't do arty stuff" :-))))

Much Love

Remi Banjo

***Pictures by photobucket**