vessels

I did not know the Lord until I was in my thirties and for many years I had a huge chip on my shoulder when I was in church. I thought that everyone else had all the scriptures memorized, and had “graduated” as Christians. When we had to turn to a passage of scripture in service, I was embarrassed to have to look at the table of contents each time, and I was secretly worried that if I joined a small group my ignorance would be magnified…so I didn’t join small groups.

I still have to look at the table of contents. I still am not sure about the order of books in the New Testament, and I could NOT pass a test on naming all the books in the Old Testament. There is even a small part of me that is right now protesting me sharing this! The point is, I am totally okay with that. When I stopped focusing so much on what I did not know, I was able to start hearing truth from other people, and I never stopped to wonder how long they had been in church, or what credentials they had.

The fact is, God can use ANY vessel He chooses to share His Word. And here is the really amazing part… the vessel He may choose is often completely unaware that they have carried a precious seed of truth. They can be completely oblivious to the fact that they have just changed a life by expressing what was in their heart. That’s what is so cool about art. When someone is absorbed in the process of creating something they forget the world and the chains they have bound themselves with – believer or non-believer-and they just create what they feel the urge to create.  If I am actively, consciously seeking to grow more like Christ, then I will recognize the truth that comes out of their creation. If I am the one creating, then I get to feel that same sense of wonder (and surprise) when I look at it. There is definitely no feeling of ownership, just amazement and humility.

I’m sad for those artists who do not know the Lord, because they miss out on that sense of wonder at what the Lord has created…and often they think they did it themselves…and then they try to force it to happen and it doesn’t and they become even more bound up. But we’ll talk about that another day.

So today I encourage you to step out in faith in your creativity. You know that it does not just mean creating art. God gave you a talent, remember? And He has something He wants to use it for, so give Him that opportunity! Write, cook, sew, photograph, sing, dance, teach, love, draw, sculpt, scrapbook, organize, talk, listen, hug, build, repair….just don’t forget to share.