Consider the Creator
I’ve enjoyed living in the Grand Rapids area for many reasons but I would have to put, somewhere near the top, the love and appreciation for the arts. We have Art Prize coming in late September-early October, where for two weeks the entire world descends upon Grand Rapids to view pieces of art from a variety of artists in countless mediums of art. We have art museums and massive sculpture gardens, childrens museums and the list goes on and on. If you spend any time in a museum and consider any collection of art, it is fascinating how you can begin to see the similarities between all of the pieces. You may be able to tell who the artist is, even if you have never seen this particular piece of art. Paintings usually have signatures at the bottom but I have found with sculptures, that often do not have a signature, their signatures are also in the way they are made.
Consider the Creator
Luke 12: 22 He said to his disciples, ‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. 23For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. 24Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! 25And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?* 26If then you are not able to do so small a thing as that, why do you worry about the rest? 27Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin;* yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. 28But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! 29And do not keep striving for what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not keep worrying. 30For it is the nations of the world that strive after all these things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31Instead, strive for his* kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.
This has been one of my favorite passages in scripture and if you’ve ever sat through a few of my sermons I’m sure you will have heard me quote it. It is a reminder to not worry, that God eternally and infinitely cares for us and tends to us. What I want you to catch this time is the call to pay attention to the signature. All over this verse we see God displaying his masterpiece, we are in the halls of the greatest museum, or sculpture garden that we could imagine and God is saying through his beloved son, “Do you see my signature”?
Do you see that I am in the bird and the flowers to see them prosper in beauty and magnificence and that I am more than pleased to work in and through you. Do you see my signature?
What many of the sayings of Jesus allow for is deep self-reflection. I think it is the reason that he spoke in parables, metaphor and simile. It is so we couldn’t walk away saying, YEP, that’s what Jesus said and what he wants us to do so I will do it. We have to ponder and reflect deeply.
Do I see God’s signature in His creation?
I start with the basic question Jesus was asking. Are you awake, are you looking around, are you appreciating creation, are you seeing the way that it speaks to your life, are you showing more worry than a tiny bird, did you worry more about what you would wear than a fragile defenseless lilly? Do we see that God has placed, all around us, more than enough signs, more than enough language to keep us in constant meditation and reflection, do we believe that the heaven’s declare his wonder. Are we looking for his signature?
Is God’s signature on my life?
What type of fruit am I bearing?
Galatians 5:22-26
the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, competing against one another, envying one another.
As a child of God, who is full of the Holy Spirit that has been promised to us, we should show the signature of God in our lives. Part of the gift of this scripture is that we can use it as a tool of self reflection. Do I have peace, am I patient, am I kind, am I generous with my time talents and treasure, am I faithful and trusting of God, am I gentle or always overly abrasive, and do I have any self control or am I living life through impulse?
When people look at us, can they tell who has created us? Are we image bearers of God or of the ruler of THIS age.
Is God’s signature on our church?
Matthew 16: 13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah,[c] the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter,[d] and on this rock[e] I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.
It is our confession but it is He who is the builder. Maybe the reason people are having such a hard time identifying the signature on our churches is because they look like bogus replicas of the original. When we spend so much time and effort trying to plan, build and develop strategy, I mean people do studies of demographics when they plan, God forbid some leaders even try to economically find out in what regions they will be able to be most successful because of the amount of money that is there. Forgives us God, we have built something that is a shell of what you imagined and then we have the nerve to put your name across the top, to hang your cross on our walls. We need to stick to the business of confessing, let Him be about the work of building. I think most of us would agree that sounds right in theory but what does it mean to be about the business of confession, to begin being God's children and not just people who do.
We start at square one, by asking, “what is God up to right now?”. Not last year or when this church was built, but today, what is God up to? And then partner with that, keep confessing and partnering with God and his people in your time and place and something happens. It doesn’t necessarily happen as fast or on the same scale as the swift high polished business machines.
Look for God's work in this world in surprising places. I love the shows on PBS like Antique's Roadshow where a person will bring in a piece of art that they know is old but they have no idea of its value. I think the antique appraisers that get to share the news with them love it too. Maybe it was just in their attic or on the bathroom wall and it had gone unnoticed and unappreciated for years. In the same way, many of God's best works can be found in the attics of our world. The places that eyes seldom see and ears rarely hear. When you are obedient to go to those places and you find that God is already there and he's creating in that space our hearts start racing. When you see that signature on the work he is creating on its surface, in the design and planted in the very soul of the thing, it will transform your life and the life of everyone who looks upon it.
This is the best we can do. Our world is full of people promising an original and producing reprints. It's almost as if we have forgotten the beauty that is found in each brush stroke. The way that each color and careful stroke has a way of sharing with us, the heart of the artist. So go, explore, spend time in museum ands homeless shelters, ocean sides and hospitals, forests and prisons. Hike mountains and walk through cities, watch a sunrise and volunteer at a public library. Become reacquainted with the work of the master creator while at the same time witnessing that He is still creating masterpieces. I guarantee that you will always be surprised but never disappointed. God speed.