I can’t imagine having a job I love much more than
mine. In a nutshell, my biggest
responsibility is to help our teams come up with creative ways to tell the stories
God gives us. The possibilities are
practically endless - a video shown on Sunday morning, the graphics on our
roadside banner, or maybe even a church wide challenge to read the book of
Proverbs! The deeper I get into
scripture, the more seriously I take the role.
Burning bushes, speaking donkeys, walking on water – God goes to great
lengths to make his point in new and memorable ways.
It’s obvious in Solomon’s writing that he agrees with this
line of thinking. Instead of simply telling
us about wisdom again, he changes the approach:
“Hmmm...let’s put this another way.
How would we relate to wisdom if it was a living, breathing person?” Using personification, he tells us all about this
Lady Widsom - she calls out to us (v 1), she’s truthful (v 6), valuable (v 10-11),
insightful and powerful (v 14), loving (v 17), wealthy (v 18) and just (v 20). If you’re ever in the market for a good
woman, it seems like she’s one you'd want to cozy up to.
But Solomon’s not done yet.
He beats his “wisdom is really, really important to have” drum by having
the Lady tell us how indispensable she has been to the very God and creator of
the universe. She tells us how she was around even before
creation (v 22-26) and was God’s right hand wo-man when he was creating us and
our world, “constantly at his side” (v 30).
It really does make me think of wisdom, its nature, value, and intended
role in our lives, in a new way.
Who knew Solomon was so avant-garde?
Before I started looking, I never thought of the Bible as a
creative book. But now I know better. When
God addresses Job near the end of that book, the poetry is so beautiful it
almost takes my breath. The book of Ecclesiastes approaches the meaning of life
from an entirely different angle than any other in the Bible, an approach that
has gotten into my heart during different times of my life like nothing else. I’ve never been a big fan of Psalms (yes, a
singer who doesn’t like the Psalms – I see the irony), but I just finished a book that has given me an entirely new perspective on these beautiful songs and
their power in our lives as Christians today.
What do you think? How does God’s creativity speak to you?
Much love,
Heather
Joslin
Worship Ministry Creative Director
Worship Ministry Creative Director
There is a lot of creativity in the Bible once you look for it. I believe that most of the stories told by Jesus were beautifully creative. And those stories captivated entire audiences when he told them. As a volunteer in Kids Cove working with preschool children, I am trying to mimic that same creativity in order to capture their imagination and spark their enthusiasm for learning God's word. This chapter of Proverbs is one of my favorites for the imagery that it provokes and the unique way that Solomon repeats what he has already taught.
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