The very first thing we find out about God in the Bible is that He is creative. In a stunning revelation, we are introduced to a God that makes His artistic immaterial thought a physical reality through speech. I think we too often pass by the words, “And God said,” failing to recognize just how significant they are. We are bathed daily in the rhetorical waters of His divine oration. We seek escape from the stresses of life by making our way back to nature in the hope that we can hear His Word without the distracting man-made noise of the city. We all sense His creative genius to one degree or another, but it seems that there is a particular group of humans who are uniquely attuned to His Words. A group of people adept at using the Rosetta Stones of ink, paint, and melody to translate God-speak into the common language of the people. Even those of us who are artistically challenged have enough creative sense to recognize this gift in others.

There will always be a gulf between our knowledge of God and the reality of God. A sea of mystery separating the immanent human lounge chairs of reason that dot the world beach from the transcendent Divine shores beyond the horizon. Many a human being has attempted to navigate these waters but found their human dinghy unseaworthy. We are blessed, however, to have a special group of certified spiritual deep sea divers outfitted with brushes, guitars, and pens to plum the depths of the mystery separating us from God rather than foolishly trying to conquer it. As we restlessly float above them, waiting for the arrogant hot air of human pride to fill our sails and propel us onward, we see bubbles of laughter billowing up from below as they write a song about a seahorse. There is a certain beauty that surrounds God’s mystery.  If the gap were narrowed or non-existent then there would be no need for the artist. We were created to be patrons of God’s art. The “very” that God stamps on His “good” creation after man shows up on the scene represents man’s ability to walk the halls of God’s enormous art gallery and admire His use of color, texture, and light.  How amazing it must be for God to see His own work through the eyes of unique creatures created in his image? Just like those times we look expectantly at the faces of our children as we introduce them to something that inspired awe in us in our youth. How often do we just add another section to the bridge that we are building over that enigmatic sea, instead of standing on the edge, taking a deep breath, and with fear and trembling, jumping in and swimming the mystery?