McManus writes, “Art in its purest form is an extension of the soul...“God didn’t have to make everything he created good; everything he created was good because he made it.” Anyone who has a soul is an artist. There is no such thing as “artist/creative-types” and “non-creative types”. When we believe this, we spend our lives “admiring those who have the gift of creativity while seeing our role as simply celebrating their uniqueness.” We are all creative. “We breathe, therefore, we create.” The real question for all of us is, “Do we have the courage to express ourselves and create?” McManus writes, “To make our lives a creative act is to marry ourselves to risk and failure.” Courage is a matter of the heart, of the soul.
If we want a different future, we need to create it. If we want to have a more fulfilling life, we need to create. We were born to create because we’ve been made in the image of the creative God.
Soul
February 9, 2020 • Mike Weaver
Masterpiece
March 22, 2020 • Mike Weaver
“When a life is a work of art, it is always more than simply an expression of ourselves. Life becomes a work of art when we live it not for ourselves but for others. We live and tell our story, and through it we carry the hope of the world.” Jesus turning water into the best wine is the work of his reflection of his essence. “The greatest art of an intersection of contrasts.” Jesus didn’t have to tell the people a miracle had happened, the quality of the product did it. God turns water into wine time and time again, the “water” being the quality of our ordinary lives.
Canvas
March 15, 2020 • Steve Brown
To experience happiness, craft your life into a work of art within God’s boundaries. Erwin McManus writes, “Every creative endeavor becomes a realization of both how limited and how unlimited we http://are...every medium carries within itself inherent limitations, and every artist comes with limitations. True creativity is not the outflow of a world without boundaries. The creative act is the genius of unleashing untapped potential and unseen beauty within the constraints and boundaries of the medium from which we choose to create” (The Artisan Soul, pp.145-146) The commandments of God are boundaries for our lives. Jesus taught that he did not come to abolish the commandments of God but to fulfill them. Jesus and the apostles fulfilled and deepened God’s Old Testament laws through their teachings and by embodying the law of love. The laws of God are boundaries within which we most flourish in life and experience authentic happiness in our relationships, accomplishments, and well-being. Take Away: Memorize the 10 Commandments and then pick one to understand more deeply, beginning with Luther’s Small Catechism.
Craft
March 8, 2020 • Mike Weaver
Paul was a tentmaker. Peter, James and John were fishermen. Jesus was a carpenter. Remarkably, Jesus became a common laborer and dedicated his life to a craft. What’s the best way I can do the most good? What is your “genius”? What is your unique talent? Where might you be considered, if you worked at it, the best in the world? Craft means strength.