Ex Creatio

In the beginning, God created

• heaven and earth
  
• day and night
  
• water and soil
  
• plants and animals
  
• man and woman
  

God created ex nihilo: Out of nothing
What wasn't, now was
And it was good

God made us in His image
One way we reflect this image is in our drive and ability to create

We make

• cities and dams
  
• houses and shopping malls
  
• clothes and furniture
  
• stories and songs and dances and masks
  

We create ex creatio: Out of what God made, we make.

• Every time you write a paper or an email
  
• When you greet or comfort someone
  
• When you cook a meal or play a game or dance a swing
  
• When you paint a portrait or sketch a cartoon
  
• Every time you do something in a way that never quite existed before, for a purpose or context that doesn't duplicate a previous purpose or context exactly
  

You are acting like God

But love compels us to take one more step

• nurture a small group
  
• commission someone to write a song or a poem or craft a chair
  
• help someone translate the Bible into their language
  
• tutor a refugee
  
• raise a child
  
• Every time you inspire or prepare someone else to create, you are performing one of the highest, most satisfying and enduring acts of love
  

You are not God, but creativity flows through you
And in that, you are like him