I’ll never forget a podcast interview I heard several years ago with a musical group made famous for multiple songs used in popular television dramas like Grey’s Anatomy and blockbusters like Twilight: Breaking Dawn. The band, called Sleeping at Last, is widely popular in the secular world, yet the members are Christian. I pushed a mower through the thick grass of my front lawn as I heard Ryan O’Neal answer the question “How is it that you’re a Christian, yet your music is not ‘Christian music’?”

What he said stopped me in my tracks. “Before I even started, I told God, I’m never going to force you into my music, and I’ll never force You out” (paraphrased).

This was earth-shattering to me. As a writer and poet, I’d hidden thoughts and words behind a veil of Christianity, afraid of what my Christian audience would think if I was authentic–afraid of the unfollows I’d receive if I went full ‘Jesus Freak’.

I’ve been writing poetry and fiction since I was 14 (that’s 25 years now, a quarter-century), and I have never been certain of my audience because I was afraid of speaking the same message to everyone…that is, until I heard Ryan O’Neal.

God, I’m never going to force you into my art, and I’ll never force you out.

So, what does art look like when you’re free to just be an artist? That’s what I’ve been figuring out.

From Creation to 2025

From the very first pages of Scripture, God reveals Himself as Creator. Genesis 1:1 says it. He didn’t just create the “heavens and the earth,” though. He created also “mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them” (Geneses 1:27).

So, since creation, as our bodies and minds have changed, as our societies and values have changed, as our world has changed, have we stopped being image-bearers of God? I’m thinking not.

One of God’s most defining attributes, supported throughout Scripture, from beginning to end, is Creator. It’s His identity, and it’s ours.

Your drive to create, is God-breathed.

What if you viewed your hobby as something your Heavenly Father placed in your hands the way a mother passes down a love for quilting or a father puts a wood carving tool in the hands of his son or daughter? Imagine your pen is a gift from your biggest fan, greatest admirer, most supportive mentor.

What then? It’s no longer merely a hobby. It’s a legacy.

Creating as Worship

Perhaps the most loving act in all of Scripture is not necessarily when Jesus died for mankind, but maybe it came before. Maybe the most loving act in all of earth’s history is actually when The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit created mankind.

What if the most loving act toward God, then, is creating?

David

“I will sing to the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.” — Psalm 104:33 (NIV)

Like Ryan O’Neal, and like David, you can use music to glorify God, showering Him with adoration and love through every season of your life. You don’t have to perform special music at church to worship God through music. You can worship God through music in your shower, while gardening, hiking, anything.

David still wrote poetry glorifying God when he fled from Saul into a cave (Psalm 57). Even in bleak darkness, we can turn to creativity to  worship and connect with our Creator.

Bezalel

“Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri…to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze,to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of crafts.'”— Exodus 31:1-4 (NIV)

Bezalel is one of the first people in Scripture described as being “filled with the Spirit of God” (Exodus 31:3), and yet, he isn’t called to prophesy or to preach, but to create art for the tabernacle. His work, along with his assistant, Oholiab, was not just skilled labor, and important, but also an act of love, adorning the very house where God would meet with His people.

Moses and the Prophets

“Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.’” — Exodus 34:27 (NIV)

Writing as a Christian is a divine calling. For Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and others, being a divine scribe meant using words to preserve God’s truth. Their act of writing was an obedience that birthed revelation. As Adventists, we focus a lot on Ellen White, but our church is filled with brilliant authors, bloggers, journalists, poets, and more.

Every Act of Creation

Scripture is filled with creators—artisans filled with the Spirit, poets inspired by pain and praise, builders guided by divine blueprints. From Bezalel’s goldwork to Miriam’s song, from Moses’ pen to Solomon’s temple, creativity has always been one of God’s languages. When we create, we don’t just make things—we join in His work of making the world more beautiful, ordered, and alive.

What do you create? What would you like to create? Too often, Christians hold back for fear their self expression cannot glorify God. Scripture says otherwise.

A Prayer for the Creator

Father in Heaven,

Bless the artists behind the screen with the power of Your Almighty hand. Help them to be so filled with Holy Spirit and love that it flows from their pens, their hands, their paint brushes, their bodies, and their minds. We want to glorify You, the Holiest of Holies, in a land filled with darkness. Help us to be cities on a hill, beautifully adorned, decorated, painted, and designed cities that cast Your holy light. Help us to share our creations with exactly the person who needs to see them today–to meet You. We believe You are Creator and that You created us for such a time as this, with skills to breathe life into this land. In Jesus’ Name, we pray and believe and trust You. Amen.