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Love, Pride, and Creativity

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By Jason Comerford

I was recently reading up on the life of French artist Henri Matisse, and came across these quotes from an article he wrote: 

Creation is the artist’s true function; where there is no creation there is no art. But it would be a mistake to ascribe this creative power to an inborn talent. In art, the genuine creator is not just a gifted being, but a man who has succeeded in arranging for their appointed end a complex of activities, of which the work of art is the outcome. 

[…] Great love is needed to achieve this effect, a love capable of inspiring and sustaining that patient striving towards truth, that glowing warmth and that analytic profundity that accompany the birth of any work of art. But is not love the origin of all creation? (“Is Not Love the Origin of All Creation?”)

For an artist who was cryptic about his religious beliefs, I think that’s a shockingly insightful take on where true creativity comes from: love is not only important, but at the center of it all. 

Paul says something strikingly similar that you might be familiar with: 

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. […] 8Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. 13So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. (2 Corinthians 13:1-3, 8-13) 

Paul goes a bit further than to simply say that love is at the center of all things, but he draws out the clear implication. Anything without love is useless and very likely harmful.  

It’s something I experienced in my early days as a photographer, and I suspect the experience is common to many beginning artists: the desire to be excellent and attain mastery instantly kills creative effort because it’s typically born out of an insecure need to be someone great and to be admired by others as great. It’s not born of any love or interest in the subject and art itself; it’s born of a paradoxically proud and insecure love for only oneself. I’ve found it to be one of the greatest roadblocks in growing as an artist, and even now I wrestle with it as I try to learn and grow in new ways.  

Pride kills creativity because pride is the opposite of love. 
  

As Elim continues towards its next season, I think it’s important for all of us to seriously pray and think about our reasons for existing as a church. Why are we here? Why are we involved? As we learn alongside a new pastor, forge new ministries, and preach the gospel in Puyallup, why are we doing these things? Do we build because we love? Or do we build to be seen? Is the good of our community our great delight? Or do we seek to prove ourselves against others? Is it our glad honor to be part of spreading the good news of our Lord’s kingdom? Or do we just want a kingdom of comfort here and now, for ourselves? 

These are crucial questions because in no small part, hard days are probably ahead. Some ministries will fail, and other efforts will take much longer to bear fruit than we’d like. If our motivations really are an insecure need to prove ourselves or a selfish need for comfort here and now, we’ll have no tolerance for trying new things, for repenting when we’re wrong, and for growing slowly into the church we would like to be.  

But if love is at the center of it all? We will continue to sacrifice, continue to love our neighbor, and continue to do good even when it’s hard. 

Pray with me, Elim. Pray that our Lord would make us more and more a people of deep, compassionate, generous, longsuffering love. Other matters of discipline and ministry style are certainly important—but none so much as us actually loving our God and actually loving our neighbors. 

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Embracing Diversity: Are We Missing Out on God’s Blessing?

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By Larry Short

After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” Revelation 7:9-10

As a conservative Christian, I’m often made nervous when I hear words such as inclusiveness and diversity bandied around. The devil is always in how you define your phrases.

But recently I’ve come to realize that we as Christians are missing out on a huge part of the blessing that God desires to bestow upon us if we are unwilling to embrace or even seek true diversity in our lives and within the Body of Christ.

Let me start with three experiences that have shaped me. The first happened about the time I started college at Biola, circa 1975. The youth pastor at our church was a young man named John I had a huge respect for, as he made an enormous impact in my life.

John invited me during one summer break to live with him in the parsonage of a small church in downtown Los Angeles where he was interning, in a suburb called Cudahy, which at the time was the most densely populated square mile on the planet. This church was indeed culturally unique. It was actually seven churches that met in a single small building, a different church each day of the week.

And each church was based in a different racial and cultural tradition: Hispanic, Black, Samoan, Chinese, Vietnamese, etc. The style of worship of each was correspondingly diverse.

One of my most powerful memories is of lying in bed at night and drifting off to sleep while listening to the singing next door, which was taking place in a manner I had never experienced growing up in my white conservative Baptist church. Not better, not worse, just different.

And I remember thinking, “This must be what Heaven is like!” Hearing God praised in different tongues, in different styles, with different types of artistry and music, while foreign to my inexperienced ears, still raised me up into the presence of God. Amazing.

My second awakening came when traveling for World Vision. I spent time in Romania, worshipping with Eastern Orthodox Christians; in Honduras, worshipping with Latin American charismatics; and in South Africa, worshipping with Anglicans. Previously, I hadn’t even been aware that these groups were what I would call Christians. But in each of those diverse experiences, I discovered that worshipping God in different ways brought new and previously unknown experiences and revelations. They weren’t better Christians or worse Christians than I was used to—they were simply brothers and sisters in Christ who opened my eyes to new ways to see God.

The third experience came in my last few years with World Vision. When I worked in Media Relations, I got to know a colleague named Cynthia whom I deeply respected for her love for Christ and others, her professionalism, and her commitment to service. Cynthia is Black and lives with her family, including two boys at the time in their late teens, in Washington, DC.

As we got to know each other, we began to share family experiences, joys and frustrations and fears. And I was stunned to learn that Cynthia’s greatest fears were very different from mine.

“I weep and pray every time my boys leave the house,” she confessed. “What if they were to be stopped by the police? I’ve taught them how to carefully and respectfully comply. But there are so many of their peers for whom these confrontations go desperately sideways. How can I protect my children?”

I had hopes, dreams, and fears for my own two white children. But I have never once shed tears of worry that they might be abused by the authority figures they depend on to keep them safe.

The events of these past few weeks have renewed in me a commitment to do what I began to do when I worked for World Vision: to listen! Do I truly understand (and do I want to understand) where the pain that we are seeing manifested in the culture around us is coming from? Am I willing to actively oppose the personal and systemic racism that is at its heart?

Revelation 7 tells us of a “great multitude” that we will be standing shoulder to shoulder with, before the throne of the Lamb. (No social distancing there, and no masks required!) We will be interspersed with every diverse nation, tribe, people, and language. And we will all be praising God together!

How are we preparing for that day NOW? Are we embracing the diversity that God has built into all of His wonderful creation, on this planet and beyond? God doesn’t make junk, and He doesn’t make things for no reason. He has created people very different from us and expects us to embrace those differences and figure out how we all fit together in this diverse organism we call the Body of Christ.

There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Galatians 3:28

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A Favorite Verse That is So Much More

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By Dan Amos

Have you ever run across a verse that acts as the proverbial two-by-four upside the head? I can definitely point to Romans 1:20 as an example. I read it. Then I re-read it over and over. I pondered it and printed it out and posted it on my monitor at work. It was such a foundational verse, one that underpins my worldview and helps to explain our current situation.

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse (Romans 1:20).

This is a verse of incredible hope to me. God created. He’s in control, always has been and always will be. While He has chosen to limit His revelation to us, enough is there that we can know, whether we are a scientist or not. There’s enough evidence to acknowledge His majesty, that we have to actively deny Him to not see it. I see how we are fearfully and wonderfully made and I know that I don’t have the kind of faith to believe inorganic matter spontaneously came alive on its own and overcame entropy to organize into the complex, interdependent organisms that are people.

The rest of the chapter is less hopeful, more instructive as it describes the consequences of our denial:

For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools ( Romans 1: 21-22)

We know the consequences of our sin and that of our ancestors. What was made very good was spoiled. Life became difficult and finite as a result. What we are experiencing today was not part of His plan, but it is redeemable even in the tragedy and loss.

I count myself fortunate and blessed in this time. I am thankful more than ever and for more than before. I have often given thanks for those who serve in our military, law enforcement and medical service. Now, I recognize my gratitude for the truckers, the clerks, the stockers. I am thankful for all those people who make everyday living possible and who continue on today under difficult conditions and often with smiles under their masks. I hope as we return to a new normal, whatever that may be, that we don’t forget how we were served so well by so many.

There are many who are making an extraordinary effort on our behalf. We have Sunday service because of many sacrificially serving. Every week because of people like Lars P. and Gregg Z., we are getting closer and closer connected while physically apart. How wonderful that they are harnessing technology to serve.

And of course the Good News is we are not doomed to condemnation without hope:

But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus (Romans 3:21-24)

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Taking Time

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by Brian Waple

 For our 40th wedding anniversary, Cindy and I had the opportunity to take a cruise to Hawaii. Prior to arriving in Hawaii, we spent five days crossing the Pacific Ocean. During our crossing, I had a lot of time to think about God, the immense complexity of His creation, and how this affects my response to Him. The following are three reflections I wrote during those days on the water:

“I was reading a devotion by Henri Nouwen this morning in which he spoke of how all created things point to God. Waking up this first morning and seeing the waves, feeling the tossing of our ship, made me think of the disciples in the boat on the Sea of Galilee when the storm came up and tossed their little fishing boat around. Just like the disciples, seeing the waves creates a sense of helplessness and loss of control, and it reminds me how very small I am and how very little control I have in this very big world. Being able to see and feel the force of the water and understanding that God created the natural forces that cause these unrelenting waves makes me appreciate and respect God’s creation that much more.

“But, looking up and seeing the sunshine and blue sky and white clouds (which God also created) represents (in my mind) a peace (God’s peace) and calm to the contrast of the turmoil going on in the water below. The Pacific Ocean is vast, but it is only one of several oceans, and the sky above surrounds them all. The lesson for me in this situation is there is and will be unrelenting turmoil in this world and no degree of real control is vested in me, but I have assurance that God is in control, and like the sky above these raging waters, His peace surrounds and keeps me.

“It dawned on me this morning as we’re traveling to Maui that we are actually sailing through the Hawaiian Islands. I woke up and looked out our window and saw an island, which I assumed was where we were going. Cindy corrected me by saying that is just a smaller island that we are passing … Maui is still out in front of us. Sure enough, I went out on the veranda and there was Maui, looming in the near distance. But the smaller island, as well as another small island to the northwest, reminded me that we are threading our way through the Hawaiian island chain. And seeing these islands creates in me a sense of awe and reverence and, strangely enough, thankfulness that I’m able to witness this. I’m reminded of the presentation we saw of how this chain was created … how these volcanic islands rose up from the ocean floor many, many years ago. Thinking back to the first two chapters of Genesis reminds me that these islands were all created as part of God’s grand design for this planet. It also reminds me of the whole idea of the journey and the many blessings along the way being more important than the destination.”

It was on this cruise I realized it’s when I take a break from the routine, normal, predictable life and allow myself the luxury of simply resting in God’s presence that I’m privileged to see a glimpse of God’s ethereal majesty and beauty, which is all we get this side of heaven. I was also reminded to be thankful for the small blessings that come my way along the journey.

In what ways do you rest in His presence? How do you experience God’s majesty and beauty? And are you taking time to be thankful?

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Marvel

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by Brian Waple

Last week I had the opportunity to drive across the country with an old friend. We were transporting some family heirlooms from my stepmother’s house in Virginia to Puyallup. It was 2,755 miles … 14 states … 5 days. I kept a log every day, and some of my entries are as follows:

Stopped in Danville, Illinois for the night … sat in the parking lot that evening and watched a lightning storm as it completely filled the sky.

Driving through the state of Iowa, I saw hundreds of cornfields covering wide rolling hills.

In South Dakota, we took some group selfies with Presidents Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Lincoln at Mt. Rushmore.

Passed several herds of pronghorn antelope and even saw Devil’s Tower in the distance before entering Wyoming.

Passing through Butte, Montana, we saw Our Lady of the Rockies, a 90-foot concrete statue of the Virgin Mary, nestled high up in the mountains atop the Continental Divide and dedicated by the people of Butte to women everywhere, especially mothers.

Crossed into Idaho and marveled at the expanse of Lake Coeur d’Alene.

It was as though a whole new world opened up for me and I was captivated by the sights, many of which I’ve never seen before.

It’s interesting that we are filled with wonder and awe at all the new things we see, but what about the things we see every day and take for granted, or don’t even take time to think about? Sure, we can sculpt heads out of a mountainside, but who created the internal forces that gave birth to those mountains? We can plant and harvest hundreds of acres of corn, but who created and orchestrates nature so that those corn seeds can take root and grow? We can stand in amazement at lightning filling an evening sky, but who created the vast sky in the first place for that light show to perform?

In the Bible we read: “In the beginning, God ….” Everything that follows those four words is truly a marvel. This trip made me think about how I view God and how I view the majesty of His creation. It made me question whether I take time to actually notice and be thankful, especially in this beautiful area of the country in which we live. I know that I don’t always appreciate God’s hand in what I see, and I should.

What about you? What have you seen recently in His creation that caused you to notice and give thanks? Perhaps we could take a few moments daily to give Him thanks for the beauty that surrounds us.

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“You have to fight for your right to …”

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By Bill Naron

Sitting in my plush green chair in the sanctuary this Sunday, I made a connection between something that my wife and I had been talking about and what Brian was speaking from the front. It was Jesus’s kingship! I was really intrigued as a video popped up on the screen and the speaker on the video was talking about the vastness of the universe and how the farther and farther out you go, the smaller and smaller everything looks. So, I got to thinking about Jesus and the Father. I began to think about creation and like we read in John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God ….” Jesus is the Word, and He was there at the beginning; the Bible says that all things were created through Him and all things are held together in Him.

I love the story of creation; it is my favorite part of the whole Bible. But then, who does not love the beginning, when everything is awesome and perfect? When God created everything, day after day new things were spoken into existence. On the sixth day, God created man. The Bible says that He formed man from the dust and then something happened that had not happened up to this point: God breathed life into him through his nostrils. It is amazing — God creates this being that has a mind and an ability to think and process, and this being is created in God’s likeness and image! Then this creation is given all other creation to enjoy, and he gets to be in constant communion with God, walking and talking with Him in the garden. But then, because of sin, this relationship is severed; but God is not done — He sends the Word that was with Him. He sends Jesus, the visible image of the invisible God.

See, we were talking about Jesus’s kingship and how it affects our decision-making and how we should examine everything we do through this filter, and this is where my mind went: I began to think about how amazing it is that God breathed life into man at the very beginning. We were different from the rest of creation, we were given the ability to choose to either do the right thing or do the wrong thing. The situation of Adam and Eve in the garden and them having the choice to follow God or to follow their own selfishness and be their own god is the same choice that we are presented with daily. We are put in situations and surrounded by a culture that says, “Do whatever makes you feel good, do whatever makes you happy, be the driver of your life.”

No doubt, there are probably ideas that pop into our minds that we know we should not entertain because they are not beneficial to our health or they are things that we know to be wrong. Do we ever take the time to analyze and think about how the things that we watch or the music we listen to or even the books that we read may influence us and draw us away from our priorities? There are so many things in this world that appear to be good and harmless but are really just little pebbles that cause us to trip and stumble into something bigger. Therefore, I think it is so important that we examine everything we allow in our lives and in our homes through the filter of Christ, because Jesus is King and everything we do should be an example of Him to the world. So many things in the world are beckoning for our attention and trying to consume our time and efforts. This is where my wife and I have found ourselves in contemplation lately, especially when it comes to investing in our kids. We have six small children and an awesome field of discipleship with them. So, it is important for us to analyze how we can maximize our ability to speak life to our kids and how we can be that example of Jesus to our kids when we are around them inside and outside of the house.

Jesus has shown me that in some ways there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. For example, if television, or music, or “fill in the blank,” is taking time away from our priorities, which should be God and our families, that is too much of a good thing. See, we are not the makers of our own destinies or the masters of our fate. We are creations of the God who spoke the universe into existence and breathed life into man, who gave himself up to reconcile His broken and fallen creation to Himself. We are cared for by Him more than the birds of the air or the flowers of the field. Everything we have in our lives we have because He has given it to us, and that is what should give us the desire to live in a way that reflects Him. I encourage you all to take some time and look at what may be consuming your time, what might be hindering you from reflecting Jesus to the world. Grace be with all of you, my dear church family. Amen.

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