Let There be Light

An Assembling God’s Puzzle video

By Fr. Garry Richmeier, C.PP.S.

The Bible tells us that the first thing God did was to create the light and dark, the heavens and the earth, the land and the sea, animals and plants, and finally, people. That apparently means that the act of creating is God’s primary purpose, and the source of all life.

We human beings were created in God’s image, and we have been given a share of God’s creative power. We have the ability to create new things. Not only do we have the ability, it is really our purpose in life. We were created to create, to participate in the divine creative process. And if we create for the same reason God created everything, out of love, we bring life into the world as God did.

So, the work of creating is a necessary piece of life’s puzzle that we need to focus on if we want to bring life into our lives and into the rest of the world.

We were made to create, just like, for example, a scissors is made to cut. A scissors works very well for cutting, but it is lousy for driving in a nail. In the same way, if we create out of love, it works very well to bring life. But if we do something other than create, like destroy or simply do nothing, the results will be lousy because we are not doing what we were designed to do. And those lousy results can turn out to be depression, hopelessness, anxiety, relational conflict, war, and so on.

When people think of who is creative, they often think of artists, musicians, actors, inventors, etc. Usually these are people who are in the news because they did something unique or different than anyone else, like Taylor Swift. Or people in history who came up with a miracle drug or invention that changed people’s lives, like Pasteur or Thomas Edison. Or they are people who have a unique talent that they share and that others want to imitate.

But creativity is a trait and ability built into all of us. We can be creative even if we don’t make headlines or are noted in history books. Others don’t even have to know about our creative endeavors in order for our creativity to bring life. And creativity does not require any special skill, ability, resources, or expertise. What or how we create does not matter. What matters is that we create, and are intentional about it.

We create all the time, but often aren’t thinking about it. When we walk into a room of people, we create a different social dynamic, just by our presence. We create a greater popularity for a particular product when we use it.

We are able to bring life from our creating only when we are aware that we are creating, and do so with purpose. So if I am conscious that my words create something in my relationship with another, I am more able to choose the words that are most likely to bring life to that relationship. It is a challenge to be continually conscious of what I am creating with my words, actions, behaviors, and even thoughts. But the more we do so, the better able we are to create life.

Making something new is a way we can add life to our own personal lives. Too often I’ve witnessed people retire, which ends their creativity in their work, and they simply sit and watch TV. This often results in feelings of depression and uselessness. Our thoughts create our emotions, so choosing to think a certain way can create positive emotions (life) or negative emotions (death).

It usually feels good to create (it brings us life) because that is what we were designed to do. And it doesn’t have to be extravagant or earth-shaking. We can grow plants, do jigsaw puzzles, do origami, cook new recipes, write poems, study a new language, volunteer somewhere, start playing an instrument, and so on. The possibilities are endless.

Even if I’m confined to a bed, I can create stories in my imagination, or write down my life experiences to pass on to my children and grandchildren as a gift. The point is not what we create, or how much we create, but that we create with love.

In the beginning, God created life, and created us to continue to create life. It’s a powerful gift and ability we’ve been given, and a big responsibility. But it is what we were created for, and what we are well designed to do. We just need to consciously use the gift to the best of our ability, and we will find life.

All of the videos in this series can be found here: Assembly God’s Puzzle.

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[Fr. Garry Richmeier, a Precious Blood priest and spiritual director, holds a Master’s of Divinity Degree from St John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota, and a Master’s of Counseling Psychology degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. He is a licensed professional counselor and a licensed marriage and family therapist.]

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