Iron Sharpens Iron
One of the strongest, coolest, and most amazing tools in the arsenal of the Christian creative is the people they surround themselves with. Fellow creatives, brothers and sisters in Christ, wise older men and women, experts in their field of creativity, and — crucially — honest, merciful people to get advice, opinions, and encouragement from.
Good Produces Good
Do you want to produce good work? Not for your salvation, of course, but out of the love you have for your fellow man? Out of the love you have for God? Do you want to craft good stories that inspire, encourage, comfort, entertain, and feed people intellectually, spiritually, or emotionally? Do you want to offer up your gifts as a sacrifice before God, to do with what He wills?
Talent Requires Practice
God gifted you with the best talent ever. You are so incredibly good at this Creative Thing that people have been telling you since you were a child “ah, look at this! He/she is so good at this thing! They have a natural talent that is going to take him/her far!” You are the star of this Creative Thing in your social circles, unmatched, unrivaled, all without lifting a finger of effort. You are praised and loved and you felt like the sky is the limit…
…then you hit the wall.
It’s Important to Nurture Your Gift(s)
Sometimes it’s easier to say “I have a talent in this, but it’s just a hobby” or “I wish I had more time to develop this skill, but I am so busy” than it is to actually go do the thing. It’s easier to let the creativity slide than it is to build that creative skill that God has given us. Sometimes we even like to brag “Ah, yes, I have this creative talent” without actually ever exercising it or thinking about it except when we’re trying to show off.
Finding Your Gift
For some people it is easy. For others, there is a calling to create, but no clue where to even begin. For others, they have been pursuing various creative avenues, but each and every one of them has reached a dead-end. They know they are called to create, but exactly what their creative gift (whether talent or skill) feels like its trying to hide.
Being a Bezalel
The first Biblically recorded instance of a person being gifted the Holy Spirit is Bezalel. If you are unsure of who that is, you are not alone! He was no great prophet like Moses, or mighty man like Samson, and he wasn’t one of the Twelve Disciples or a member of Paul’s ministry. No, Bezalel was a craftsman.
The Tabernacle
Choosing just a few verses for this article was difficult because the Tabernacle of the Old Testament is not a tiny project. God gives incredibly clear and specific instructions on its entire design, from the protective, outer badger skins to the intricate golden lampstands. Each and every piece of this project glorifies God in some way or another through its design, function, or purpose. And it is a fantastic thing to analyze as Christian creatives!
What Do We Mean By ‘Gifts from God’?
As stated previously, this season of ECC is going to focus on the idea of gifts from God. However, there is one little piece of clarification that needs to be made before continuing: these are not spiritual gifts. The New Testament is filled with verses on spiritual gifts, such as kindness, patience, prophecy, mercy, etc., which are not what we are going to be discussing during this blog series.
Encouraging Christian Creatives, Season 2: Gifts and Talents
Hello, dear reader!
Welcome to the second season of Encouraging the Christian Creative! I am so excited to dive into this next season and pray that God will be glorified in it!