The psalmist wrote, I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well. (Psalm 139:14)

This morning my inspiration is coming from two sources. First, the Bible; then, our daughter Naomi’s latest artwork. The two come together when I think about creativity, and about the process of growing into all the potential God sets in motion via the wonder of life – my life, your life, the life of every human being on the face of the Earth.

I believe there’s a lot of misunderstanding (or maybe, more accurately, “stunted understanding”) when it comes to the idea of our status as being created, “In the image of God.”

As with so much that is addressed in the Bible, our interpretation is very often flat and one-dimensional. It’s not so much a problem with literalism as it is a problem with imagination, and a problem of narrowing our definitions and limiting our understandings to ideas that are far too small.

“Made in the image of God” means that we have been created in the likeness of God. God “lives” beyond the boundaries of time and space, so “likeness” must reference attributes other than and beyond physical appearance.

The attributes of God are God’s characteristics, descriptive words that help us understand who God is. God’s attributes are many and varied, but there are some that seem to crop up again and again:

• Wonderful
• Counselor
• Prince of Peace
• Mighty God
• Father
• Son
• Holy
• Spirit
• Pure
• Refiner
• Lord
• Savior
• Judge
• Advocate
• Creator
• Friend
• Father
• Mother
• Brother
• Sustainer
• Gate
• Guide…

YOUR BLUE-PRINT: For me, the descriptive word “Creator” brings together a lot of the attributes that resonate with my experience. If I want to honor the image of God in me, then it’s critically important that I nurture the innate creativity that God has written into the “Derek Blueprint.”

I believe that to the extent I invite God into every detail of my life, to guide me and to inspire me, then I am more likely to bear the image of God in how I live. Image, then, is not so much tied in with looks as it is to being. Or, to use a phrase from 10 Life-Charged Words, “To tell the truth about the Gospel of Love, simply by being.”

To tell the truth about the Gospel of Love, simply by being.

That’s what creativity is all about! That’s what great art does. That’s what an artful life does. It all tells the truth about God, and it illustrates the truth via an authentic representation of the Good News in and through all that we do.

Labor Day was yesterday. Today our “work” is to live the truth out loud! – DEREK