When we think of creative people, normally we think of poets, writers, musicians, and artists of all kinds. That is appropriate, because all of these are creative people; but this is only a small part of the picture. Years ago Pope St. John Paul II wrote a landmark encyclical about the meaning of work; and in it he taught that all of us are creative, because all of our work is a continuation of God’s work of creation. Specifically, he wrote, “Man is the image of God partly through the mandate received from his Creator to subdue, to dominate, the earth. In carrying out this mandate, man, every human being, reflects the very action of the Creator of the universe."
This means that from now on, when we think of creative people, in addition to the poets, the writers, the musicians, and the artists of all kinds, we should think of ourselves when we prepare a meal or take out the trash or work in the yard or at our desk.
You are creative; and if you join the challenges of work to the Lord’s cross, your work is also redemptive. And it will bear fruit not only in this world, but in the next, where God’s work of creation and re-creation will be complete.
Gratefully yours,
