Creativity is one of the God-given talents that we should learn how to properly appreciate and develop. This applies not just to our children but to people of all ages.
God-given talents
We all have God-given talents. The Creator has made sure to give every single one of us the talent that we need to be productive and to be of service to others.
In one of your Bible readings, you may have come across this in 1 Corinthians 12:7-11 where it says that there is “A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice; to another, the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge. The same Spirit gives great faith to another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing. He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or another spirit. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said. It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have” (NLT).
It is a wonderful experience to have God’s grace and spiritual gifts in our everyday lives through the talents that He has given us. Knowing that our talents come from God, let’s explore at least five activities that can encourage creativity.
Art
Art is one of the best ways to encourage creativity as it comes in many forms. Painting, poetry, pottery, drawing, flower arranging, and other ways that allow you to express your inner thoughts can be considered art.
In today’s society, we have social media. It is easy to express one’s own opinion through words. But we believe that art is a more creative and edifying way to share creativity with others. With various means of expression in art, you can share a wide variety of thoughts, moods, and messages.
Cooking
Cooking gives an individual a sense of creativity with ingredients, flavors, textures, colors, and the presentation of food. It is very easy to do if you are passionate about it and want to please those who will be enjoying your creations. With cooking, you can share the end result with family and friends so you can see their reaction to the tastes and how the ingredients blend. You can also explore various cultures, cuisines, and traditions by studying the ingredients from various parts of the world and the way people cook.
With culinary creativity, you can gain an enhanced palette that allows for endless exploration.
Making Greeting Cards
Even with online options, greeting cards are not a thing of the past. What we love the most about making greeting cards is the fact that they are very personal to the creator as well as to the recipient. Using things from nature like leaves, flowers, and seeds can add a unique touch to your homemade greeting cards that cannot be found so easily in a store.
If you are fond of giving gifts, you will love creating and giving greeting cards. You can express a very special kind of love and compassion when you write your own thoughts. The effort that you put into a greeting card will be appreciated by the recipient. They will likely keep it around and treasure your creativity for a long time.
Coloring
Coloring is an activity that you can rely on to be very easy and accessible through coloring books and pages that can be printed out. You can express yourself through this medium very well since the lines and shapes already exist. Some activity books use coloring as a way to destress and relax the person doing the coloring.
Coloring is an activity that can be down alone or with your family and friends. If you have young children, you can easily see why they love coloring because you can also experience it yourself and enjoy it as well.
Creation Illustrated magazine typically has a Coloring Contest of a nature scene in virtually every edition of the biblical nature publication.
Photography
Photography is now more accessible than ever. With the many smartphones, camera phones, as well as digital cameras you can take digital photographs that are improving greatly with many filters and ways to enhance an image. You can enjoy photography the way that you want to, and it provides a wonderful way to get outdoors to enjoy and explore God’s Creation.
You can get your creative juices flowing by using various lighting, subjects, people, and action. You can experience the beauty of nature, the beauty of family, or the beauty of the mundane. In whatever way you may see beauty or intrigue, photography is there to help capture it for you. This activity can enhance almost anyone’s creativity.
Creativity Is Everywhere
We must always know that we have been created in the image of God who is our Creator! Let us not waste our God-given talents by not developing them. It is incumbent upon us to make sure that our talents are maximized and fully realized in the best possible way to bless others.
In this regard, it is important to remember the thoughts of Erma Bombeck who said that “When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, ‘I used everything you gave me.’” We should make sure that we fully realize, develop, and share our talents for the good.
At the end of the day, we believe that we should use our creativity and our talent to glorify the Creator. We can do so by holding on to the verse in Colossians 3:23-24 which encourages that “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.”
Creation Illustrated magazine encourages creativity as the first element of God’s character that is revealed in the Bible. So, use your creativity, develop your talent, and spread your talent to serve the Lord. This is the best way that you can ensure that you are using God’s gifts for the better.
