Made in the image of God…

“So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:27, NIV)

I loved using crayons as a small child. There was something about the way they stood at attention in their yellow and green cardboard box, like miniature soldiers just given a command. It almost seemed sinful to use them for the very first time, to carelessly dull their rounded tips. Their aroma, which I can still sense to this day, reminds me of childhood innocence and of simpler times.

I have always been a bit of a perfectionist, a trait that was evident early in my life, sitting at the round kitchen table of my childhood home. No matter how hard I concentrated, I could not master the art of staying within the bold lines of the pages of my coloring book. With my tongue stuck slightly out of the corner of my mouth, like Michael “Air” Jordan, I wielded my crayons like fattened magic wands. Still, there was no magic in my crayons, and my scribbling strokes worsened with every passing moment.

I don’t do much coloring today, but if I did, I bet I would be just fine with coloring outside of the lines. I’ve traded in my rules-bound, overly structured methods to become a bit more of a free-spirited creator-type. I love to create, mostly through the written and spoken word, but I do dabble in other creative endeavors as well.

I’ve often pondered the reason I enjoy the creative process. I think, in large part, it’s because I follow the God who created all things. I am, like all people, created in his image. Therefore, there’s a part of me that longs to create as God created.

So often, one might say, God stays within the lines of his work, demonstrating a mastery like no other artist practicing his craft. God designs the arching colors of the rainbow and stripes with precision the body of the zebra. He moves the planets in their elliptical orbits and calculates the straightness of the redwood.

But God also demonstrates random chaos in his creation – the explosion of the volcanic mountain and the frenzied fluttering of the hummingbird’s wings, the shifting of glacial ice and the unique design of every snowflake.

I am amazed at God’s work, his creativity, and artistry. And when I create, I feel a connection with the One who created me in his very image.

So, I would say, create something today. And to God, the first Creator, be the glory forever!