When you think about spiritual disciplines, what comes to mind? For me, the actions of prayer
and solitude, and the feelings of obligation and piety are still my default thoughts. To be clear, I
have a healthy relationship with spiritual disciplines… now. But it wasn’t always this way.
It would be too much to share in one blog post, so I’ll offer you just one thing that helped shift
my mindset from this heavy, obligatory response to one of gratitude, wonder, and intimate
abiding with God. I began to see creativity as a spiritual discipline.

Creativity is one of the most practical ways we bear the image of the God who created us. We
learn from the very first words of Scripture in Genesis 1:1 that God is the Creator, and a few
verses later we learn that we were made in his image. Wouldn’t it make sense then that
creativity is one of the best ways we can interact with God? As a spiritual discipline, creativity
has a place in the Christian life.

Here’s what this can look like practically:
1. We can worship through creativity.
We honor God by being like him. Any creative endeavor we embark upon can be an act of
worship. This includes cooking, which is creating a meal; growing and raising children, which is
creating a family; and even building friendships, which is creating connection. All these regular,
routine parts of our daily lives can be an act of worship to the God whose image we bear as
creators.

2. We can abide through creative practices.
Abiding in Christ is one of those concepts that has been preached on since it was written in
John 15:9, but is still somewhat difficult and confusing to understand. Centuries later, we still
have a hard time fleshing out this command. Creative endeavors help us understand what it
means to abide, and help us to do it in practical ways. Abiding at its core is being, not doing;
creativity gives us many opportunities to be! It’s similar to when you accidentally color outside
the lines, but the picture still looks fine from a distance, and the joy it brings to color isn’t gone
just because of one imperfection! Abiding isn’t about the outcome, but the process. Creativity is
also about the process. The discipline of creativity helps us learn to abide.

3. We know and understand through creativity.
My introduction to creativity as a spiritual discipline came about while I was making scones. I
had some blueberries in my fridge that were about to go bad, and rather than freeze them I
decided to make a batch of blueberry scones. As I worked the dough in my hands like clay, I
understood God in a new way. Picturing him scooping his hands into the earth, breathing life
into something new, just as making scones gave new life to the soft blueberries in my fridge…
At that moment I understood God in a new way.

There is a place for creativity in the Christian life, as an act of worship, as an abiding practice,
and as a way to know God more. May your next creative endeavor draw you to Jesus.

You can follow Hannah on her website.