time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.
what a reassuring quote. it lifts the spirits and reaffirms our natural tendencies for doing the things we love. and certainly, we should do things that bring us joy, peace, enjoyment. right?
to say we were designed for something more than this passive, vicarious living may seem cliche. but consider the anecdotal evidence: some of one's fondest memories stem from creative pursuits in the sandbox, coloring and drawing at a quarter-scale table, or building forts and hide-aways, imaginary or otherwise. perhaps we experience some veiled, half-hearted whispers of these grandiose memories when we design an excel sheet and doodle in the corners of our meeting agendas and work outdoors.
i am convinced that our inner natural workings push us towards action, creativity, making, doing. to simply make do with what we are fed through simulation or information relay takes our instinct for construction and sets it on a dusty shelf.
when we examine God's word from this perspective, we understand that the plans and will of the Lord for our lives intersect beautifully with a life of making and doing. consider the beginning: "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" (Gen. 1:1). the first verb in scripture characterizes the Ruler of the Universe as the Maker of that universe as well.
Creator God.
reading on: "The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep" (Gen. 1:2a). it is into this chaotic, abstract, topsy-turvy nothingness that God steps and brings about order through creation. the story is familiar: first comes light, and then it's a 6-day creation fest, everything building up to humanity's birth. what does our Lord have to say about our conception, then? "Let us make man in our own image, after our likeness" (Gen. 1:26-27).
wait, really? in the midst of creation, God takes time to verbalize the fact that humanity will be like Him. yes, of course we have the capacity to be like God in loving--this is the normal extrapolation i've heard for this verse. but what do we know about the Lord in just the first 25 verses of scripture? He is Creator. therefore, He creates miniature creators made in likeness of the Creator. if there would be any doubt, our creative purpose is made known in our first God-given mission: "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth..." (v. 28).
where do we catch a glimpse of this original purpose more: in flipping pages around on our iWhatevers, or building a sand castle?
after it's all said and done, the Lord rests (Gen. 2:1-3). that seventh day is blessed as a time to recharge. but here's the thing: there was a day 8. and day 9. and day 10. and... well, has Creator God been resting since day 7? i would hope not. God is certainly still at work, as He makes clear in Habakkuk 1:5: "Look among the nations and see; wonder and be astounded, for I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told." He's calling us to join in the process--but is this just "making disciples" (Matt. 28:20)? that's certainly part of it.. but what about building an ark? naming wildlife? constructing a home for the needy? composing a song? painting a landscape? can these things bring glory to the Father?
we have creation echoing in our bones. and the reverberations magnetize our souls to be like our Abba Father, the Creator extraordinaire. what a gift.
and oh, how horrendously we twist our purpose.
in our calling to be in relationship with Creator God, we fail all too easily out of the gate. what undoes creation? consumption. like "causing to exist no longer." like making it seem like something was never created. like eating a fruit (Gen. 3:6). God creates for mutual enjoyment--He shares His creation with us. but when we create with the stain of sin, we create to consume. we take from others to have for self. and this is what leads to death, physically and spiritually.
plug an extension cord into itself, and you'll get a metaphorical peek at what this looks like.
like the prodigals we tend to be, we fall into depravity when we say, "I want to do life without God." in the current motif, it's like saying, "I'm going to make something for myself that I own, something that neither God nor anyone else can lay claim to." not only is this damning, it's foolhardy. though inventors and creative minds come and go, all making and doing come from a common source in the Lord. we see this in Ecclesiastes when the preacher says:
- What gain has the worker from his toil? I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil--this is God's gift to man. I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him. That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God seeks what has been driven away. (3:9-15)
hang on to that last line there. for the moment, let's ponder what happens when we try to create for the purpose of self-consumption instead of heeding God's truth as explained above. it seems that two outcomes are likely from this equation:
- we worship the work of our hands. no better example than the Golden Calf (Exodus 32:1-6) and any other exemplar from the onslaught of idols we see both in historic and present day lives. money, sex, alcohol, grades, you name it. here's the thing: we can also easily idolize things that are extremely close to, but are still not, the Father. my church can be my idol. my ministry. my pride in following the "rules" of Christianity. those idols that resemble God the closest pose the greatest risk of stealing a Christian's affections. as C.S. Lewis so aptly put in the voice of fictitious demon Screwtape, "Nowhere do we [demons] tempt so successfully as on the very steps of the altar."
- we worship the hands that do work. rather, this is worshipping myself. living for myself. the American dream, if you will. when we make much of "the creature rather than the Creator," we entertain a fabrication of reality rather than the truth of God's holiness (Rom. 1:24-25). how easy it is to slip into stroking one's ego with every effort exerted throughout the day, or just trying to muster up a sliver of self-esteem in vain, conceited ventures.
the fact of the matter is, we all fall into one (or both) of these categories at times, Christians and otherwise. since God is perfect in all He is, He cannot accept anything less than perfect (Rom. 3:23). in sum, without God's initiative, we are as good as dead (Rom. 6:23). so what's our fate in the hands of the Creator?
God does not completely destroy, although it might look like it. destructive discourse is more likely to be found in the context of hell/separation from God (Matt. 10:28), Satan/the devil (John 10:10a), our own spiritual ignorance (Hosea 4:6), and of course, our pride in ourselves/our works (Proverbs 16:18). these things, by means of their destructive nature, are antithetical to who God is. rather, scripture paints God in a more reconstructive light, where he may do some damage for a greater good as "he wounds, but he binds up; he shatters, but his hands heal" (Job 5:18). God's renovation, although frightening as shaking the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land and all the nations, brings about treasures and glory (Haggai 2:6-7).
this brings us to God's plan for salvation, and the full-circle effect with Ecclesiastes 3:15--"God seeks what has been driven away." that's you. that's me. our sin and desire for self-fulfilling creation pushes us away from our maximum referential point and true north: God the Creator. but God doesn't leave us hanging.
it's beautiful. way back in Genesis, God creates through language, spoken word. how fitting it is, then, that our salvation comes in that same Word-made-flesh in Jesus Christ: "All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made" (John 1:3), and "by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things were created through him and for him" (Colossians 1:16). and so, as Jesus hung on the cross, God's Word-made-flesh made the boldest, messy, most passionate statement in human history.
"I want you back. and you're worth it."
through this sacrifice and our emphatic response in light of it, we are made whole and new. in fact, our old created self is replaced by a new, Christ-like self (1 Corin. 5:17). as a friend of mine is fond of explaining it, "God is in the business of making dead things alive again." this gift of Jesus His Word that God gives us is His very means of creating, and in burial with Christ we accept the offer to come back into relationship with our Creator, filling the role we were designed to take on as "God's fellow workers" (1 Corin. 3:8-9).
why would we ever want to substitute a life of making and doing in God for the hum-drum of getting by day-by-day in our own routine that we build? we think it's somehow better because we suppose it has its generation from our mind, when all the while God is the ultimate supplier of our time and the energy with which we expend that time. knowing true peace, joy, love, comfort, happiness--these all come from yielding creative credibility to God and allowing oneself to make and do as His beloved.
it is not an easy shift, this. postmodern ideology beckons us with glittering screens, hyperreal fantasy and fictitious universes that allow us to forget the filth and decay of a world that we no longer try to find God's beauty in. but it's there, always has been there, waiting to be noticed. God is here too. why are we so hesitant to what He might call us to create, what task He may have for us to do? as if He'd ever leave our side...
i am striving for a place where I would be apt to pray for a heart after God's own in regards to creating and making and doing and acting for the sole purpose of glorifying my Father. no more selfish ambition that only results in a closed circuit of dead energy; these are the longing of a stone heart. i need One who can craft me a living, beating heart of flesh as i was made for (Ezekiel 36:25-28). i need to consistently be praying for God to work His restorative, creating hands in my life, creating in me a clean heart and right spirit (Psalm 51:7-12). with God, i might go boldly forth in this life, making and doing instead of just making do with what comes my way.
MAKE...
- crafts
- songs/music
- art, drawings, paintings, the like
- disciples of the Lord
- smiles, laughter
- friendships, relationships
DO...
- goodness, kindness
- service to others
- recreational activities
- work
- maintenance
- charity
- love
