The Call to Be Discoverers

When was the last time you created something beautiful?

I took some beautiful pictures outside this morning, but I wouldn’t say that these photos are something I created; rather, I noticed something beautiful, paid attention to it, and documented a moment in time.

Perhaps creativity, then, consists not so much in creating new materials but in making new connections. For example, photographers make connections between objects, light, and space. But then again, are we making these connections, or just observing connections that already exist? Wasn’t the object, the light, and the space there whether or not I noticed it?

It might well be that what we term “creating” is really “discovering.” We discover beauty and connections that haven’t previously been observed in the way musical notes or colors or words or spices fit together.

To know ourselves to be discoverers rather than creators is an important distinction because it fosters humility and gratitude. Knowing that God creates and we discover keeps our ego in check; for example, wise artists often say that a work didn’t come from them, it came through them, and they are grateful to be an instrument of revelation. Our real work, then, is to be disciplined in our openness and attentiveness so that beauty can be revealed through our painting, composing, cooking, or whatever medium we are drawn to.

God says, “Behold, I make all things new” (Rev. 21:5). We will never run out of new things to discover, which means that every day holds the potential for exciting revelations. No wonder Jesus said, “Therefore, stay awake!” (Mt 24:42). We don’t want to be asleep to the signs that God is present with us now through the beauty of creation that surrounds us and flows through us. Otherwise, at the end of our earthly life, we will join Jacob who finally awoke from a dream and proclaimed to his regret, "Surely the Lord is in this place and I did not know it!" (Genesis 28:16).