I think I don’t think about God as much as I certainly ought. When I do it’s very compartmentalized study and meditation. I think about him during the designated times for theology and worship, namely Sunday mornings and half-hour (at most) “devotional times”. But I’ve come to realize that God demands the entirety of my daily planner. He must be completely ignored or completely adored, anything in between betrays our misunderstanding of him.
I forget a lot about God. Sure, his love and grace and power come up enough in church discussions to stay ingrained as the contours of his face (which I can never see and any attempt to make out the distinctions lead me to another mask). But his lesser-appreciated attributes often escape me and I fear, many others. One characteristic of God that I often fail to fully appreciate is his creativity.
I’m sure we all take for granted, on a daily basis, the mind-blowing creativity of our Heavenly Father. He came up with photosynthesis, tides, the songs of birds, life itself; with no other inspiration besides his own brilliance. His complete originality is fathomless.
What’s more awesome than his artistic mastery displayed in the stars, oceans, forests and infinite realms of microbiology is his artistic mastery displayed in the human soul.
To create something so deeply intricate, beautiful and simultaneously firm and fragile is to truly earn all right to the title “Father of Art”.
God even describes us as his greatest creative masterpiece when he refers to humanity as his “workmanship” in Ephesians 2:10. The Greek word here, “poiema”, means a work of art, something made with intentionality and creativity. The human soul (not to mention body) is the most dazzling work of art ever created. To make God’s creativity even more endearingly brilliant, he has built us to multiply his creative work using our own God-given gift of artistry.
The truth is, all art points us down a path of inspiration that leads us ultimately to the door of Heaven’s art studio and into the arms of The Father, Himself; of Art, Itself.