Life as a Canvas to Paint (2)

Intro

“The artisan soul goes much deeper than simply those who understand themselves as artists and are pursuing careers in an overtly creative field. I have come to realize after over thirty years of studying human creativity that the great divide is not between those who are artists and those who are not, but between those who understand that they are creative and those who have been convinced they are not. the great divide is between those who understand that their very nature is that of an artist and those who remain unaware or in denial of their artisan soul.”

That quote is from the beginning of the book called the Artisan Soul by Erwin McManus. Erwin is a pastor at a church called Mosaic in California, and a key cultural voice in Christianity today. This book is about crafting your life into a work of Art. Which goes great with our theme this morning. This morning we are looking the paradigm of Life as a Canvas to Paint.

Erwin continues on in saying that western culture has trained us for standardization and conformity rather than uniqueness and creativity. We’ve been conditioned to see life as a standardized test to pass rather than a canvas to paint.

Erwin says that the church has fallen into this cultural trend. That we’ve built discipleship programs that emphasize conformity to a particular way to think, speak, behave rather than equip people to unleash their God given creativity.

This mornings sermon is all about unleashing your identity as an artisan by using your God given creativity to create.

Now, when referring to creativity, I am not simply referring to the usual activities and industries we associate with the creative arts. We’re not just talking about excellence in the visual arts, music, writing, film or fashion. Those are all areas in which people use their creativity to express themselves uniquely, but God given creativity is much larger and broader than that. Creativity involves everyone, in every stage of life, in every industry, and living every kind of lifestyle.

Creativity is for innovators, managers, solutions providers. Those who want to develop stronger and deeper relationships. It’s for bookkeepers, accountants and financiers. This season it’s really advantageous to find someone who can get “Creative” with your tax return. Creativity is for people in customer service, in the trades, for parenting, discipleship and missional living. For those in school, and those in retirement.

Whatever you can make a decision about, whatever God has allowed you the freedom to choose to do, you can use your God given creativity in creating or finding the best choices to make, and making them well. Because your life is unique to you, your God given canvas is unique to you, to your gifting, to your skillset, to your passions and experiences and within your unique sphere of influence.

The first truth this morning is that you were created to paint. You were created to create. How do we know this?

Check out what the write of Genesis says about us (Humanity) just after he finished describing all of God’s beautiful, purposeful, intelligent, good creating.

Genesis 1:27–30 NIV

So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.

It’s no coincidence that we all have an innate desire to create. We were made in the image of a creative God, with the purpose of using the raw materials of His creation, to create. And doing this is a primary act of worship towards our God, our maker.

One of the great examples we see in scripture of a person who lived out their identity as an artist by using their God given creativity is King Solomon. King Solomon painted a beautiful canvas with his life, its one of the reasons we still read about him Today.

King Solomon was the son of King David. The most revered King of Israel even to this day by many Jews. King Solomon succeeded his father David around 3000 years ago and is famously known for having built the first major temple in Israel, known as Solomons Temple. You can find more of his story in 1 Kings and 1 Chronicles.. King Solomon was known for a few other things as well.

He is known for having written and assembling the book of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Songs of Solomon in the Old Testament. He was a writer, a guru, a poet.

Solomon is also known for bringing more organization to the government in order to rule over Israel with more efficiency and care for the people more effectively. An effective COO

Solomon accumulated immense wealth in his lifetime. I imagine through some creative endeavours. He can be considered an entrepreneur.

And He was also known to have had hundreds of wives and concubines. He would have taken up all the rooms at our upcoming couples retreat in Niagara Falls. Actually, I’m not sure how we would handle that? Would he have to pick just one to bring? Doesn't matter, we live in a different time and we’re glad God has been pulling us as humanity forward for many years!

When you hear all that tho, don’t you picture a pure eccentric artist? Always having a deep thought to share, creating new structures, extremely wealthy, lots of loving and love making?

Many would say that King Solomon saw his life as a canvas that God have him to paint, and boy did he paint.

Without going too much into details, I wanted to pull out three principles from Erwin’s book and King Solomons example of what makes a great artisan. I want us to see what it looks like to paint a beautiful canvas of a life.

The FIRST principles is that artistry is all about self-expression. Erwin describes it like this, “Art is an interpretation of life. At its essence... art is our translation of all human experience. Art is an expression of our emotions, an interpretation of our experiences. It’s a mirror of our life.”

Song of Solomon 4:1–3 NIV

How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how beautiful! Your eyes behind your veil are doves. Your hair is like a flock of goats descending from the hills of Gilead. Your teeth are like a flock of sheep just shorn, coming up from the washing. Each has its twin; not one of them is alone. Your lips are like a scarlet ribbon; your mouth is lovely. Your temples behind your veil are like the halves of a pomegranate.

King Solomon displayed this very clearly in Songs of Solomon. Let’s read a tid bit for fun. Songs of Solomon 4:1-3 “Behold, you are beautiful, my love, behold, you are beautiful! Your teeth are like a flock of shorn ewes that have come up from the washing, all of which bear twins, and not one among them has lost its young. Your lips are like a scarlet thread, and your mouth is lovely.”

Songs of Solomon 4:1

We’ll stop there. haha. Solomon is expressing himself here. He is putting words to his thoughts, emotions, experiences, and values. That’s what it means to create.

Did you know that you weren’t created to keep quiet? You weren’t created to keep your thoughts, feelings, emotions, questions, frustrations, hurts, victories to yourself? You were created to paint with them. You were created to create out of them. You were created to express your unique self. This is how we glorify God.

Erwin says later in his book that the only ideas that matter are the ones that get turned into realities. He says “there is no proof of creativity without action”.

I get to spend time with a lot of young adults who have lots of creative ideas. We’re idealists, with lots of passion, and incredibly creative ideas of what needs to change and how to change it. But I have to stop sometimes, and ask our young adult community collectively, “Why aren’t we doing something about it?” I find myself commending the great ideas, and peoples willingness to express themselves through the forum of a conversation. But wouldn’t it mean way more if the people with the ideas and feelings and opinions created out of them. Brought them into reality, and did something new as a result of them?

King Solomon actively created out of his essence, his humanity, his experience, and emotions and passions. And thousands of years later we are celebrating his creative works and are blessed by them.

God made you to paint, and to paint is to express yourself through creating something new from your unique human experience, and in your unique sphere of influence. I don’t know what it is for you, whether it’s a new way to lead your family, or a new product you’ve always thought about inventing. Maybe it’s a better way to manage and lead people in your organization that makes them feel loved and valued? Or maybe it’s a new way to connect with your neighbours missionally. Whatever it is, God is calling you to paint it.

The SECOND principle is that boundaries are our materials for creativity. Allow me to read from the Artisan Soul page 145-146, “One of the great misconceptions about creativity is that it only exists where there are no rules, no boundaries, and no limitations. Often people who find it difficult to express their true creativity blame external forces. They point to rules and boundaries and limitations as the reasons their creativity has not flourished. they become convinced that creativity blooms only when we are free of boundaries. Yet this understanding of creativity is exactly wrong. The artist always has a canvas. There is always a context for art.”

There’s the great dichotomy between the known and the unknown artist. The unknown artist always looks to the known artist and wishes he had the same fame, popularity, artistic authority and wealth so they could truly express themselves, while the known artist looks to the unknown artists and longs for the privacy, discreetness, and ability to hide in the shadows where there work won’t be seen so they can truly express themselves.

King Solomon has his own set of limitations. For one, he had the lofty expectation to fulfill the role as the revered King Davids successor. He inherited political drama, the responsibility of a nation. He had a set of plans and access to particular materials to create the temple out of. Check this out:

1 Kings 6:7 NIV

In building the temple, only blocks dressed at the quarry were used, and no hammer, chisel or any other iron tool was heard at the temple site while it was being built.

King Solomon isn’t a revered artist because he had unlimited access to do whatever he wanted whenever he wanted, however he wanted. He is a revered artisan because he took his circumstance, his limitations, his opportunities, and created something beautiful from them. He took his boundaries as his materials, and created with them. He took his God given canvas, and painted it well.

Erwin says that our humanity is our most important canvas. Your humanity is the most important canvas God has given you to paint. Now I don’t know your limitations, your experiences, your circumstances, your disabilities, or weaknesses, your boundaries. We all have them and they are all different. God has called you, he has made you to take those limitations, and create out of them as an act of worshipping God and living according to his purpose for you. Your current life and boundaries and limitations are your materials that God wants you to paint your canvas.

So when you think about painting, you need to see your job, your family, your friends, your neighbours, the home you live in, the car you drive, the money in your bank account, the perceived time you do or don’t have, as the materials in which God is calling you to paint with. They are the exact materials you need to start painting today.

The THIRD principle is that beautiful art is found in the details. A beautiful painting is the culmination of thousands of purposeful, intentional, and well executed strokes of a brush. In building the temple, God didn’t simply tell Solomon to build a temple; he laid out meticulous details of how that temple is to be designed and built. God’s own process of creation involved meticulous attention to detail.

When it comes to our lives as the canvas that is being painted, this principle is more relevant than ever. We are so attracted to any trick or tool or principle that allows us to cut corners and reach the end quickly. That’s what we are sold everyday in the media. Erwin says “When it comes to making our lives into works of art, the details are formed in how we choose to live day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute.” (140)

Erwin says that it requires strength and courage. Check out what he says about King Solomon, “It is not incidental that when David calls Solomon to build the temple, he says to his son, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. do not be afraid or discouraged for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the Lord is finished. The divisions of the priests and Levites are ready for all the work on the temple of God, and every willing person skilled in any craft will help you in all the work. The officials and all the people will obey your every command.”

1 Chronicles 28:20–21 NIV

David also said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the Lord is finished. The divisions of the priests and Levites are ready for all the work on the temple of God, and every willing person skilled in any craft will help you in all the work. The officials and all the people will obey your every command.”

He’s saying son, this project isn’t for the faint of heart. It’s not for the quitter. It’s not for the non-committal. This project isn’t for the lazy, or the easily distracted, or the self-centered. It’s not for the hedonist, who only cares about ease and pleasure. And it’s not for those who run away in the face of adversity. David told Solomon that he has all the support he needs to create this work of art; to do it right, to get every detail right, and to make it beautiful to glorify God. But it’ll take strength and courage, and discipline and a lot of time.

RECAP

So you are an artist, called to paint a canvas. You are created to create. Your primary canvas is your life, and the limitations are your materials. The most beautiful canvases take a lifetime to paint, and it’s attention to detail that makes the art excellent, noteworthy, and glorifying to God. And the act of painting is self-expression. Taking your internal essence and bringing it into reality. creating something tangible from your intangible thoughts, feelings, emotions, values, experiences.

There is one truth missing however for all this to be true and good and worshipful. And it’s an obvious one, but the most important one. And unfortunately most artists today miss this truth in their art, so their art becomes ugly, wasteful, destructive, empty, and idols of self-glorification.

The truth is that your life is a canvas, that was meant to be painted with God. Your life is your God given canvas, that he intended to paint with you. The only beautiful, worthy, glorifying art we can create is that which authentically reflects who we truly are in Christ. It’s the essence of God in us, through relationship with him, that we can begin to create masterpieces. (and really important side-note, by masterpieces, i don’t mean cheesy “christian” movies, or “Christian” music. The art or creation cannot be christian, only the artist can be. lets move one)

If we understand our lives as a canvas God has entrusted us to paint, if we realize that our lives are to reflect the nature and essence of God, then we will choose to create such things that reflect the heart and character of God. We will view our values, experiences, emotions, circumstances through the lens of God, and it’s from that place that we can truly create beauty.

I’ll finish with another quote from the book Artisan Soul, then read some of Solomons thoughts on life and beauty.

So from page 146 Erwin writes, “Everything we create reveals who we are. The material that form our souls is the only material we have available to us when we create… So when the human soul is shaped by the highest human virtues [God’s virtues] such as love, kindness, goodness, joy, gentleness, peace, selflessness, humility, we create a beautiful world” and paint a beautiful canvas.

Let’s talk through Ecclesiastes to close this morning. This is from King Solomon.

Ecclesiastes 3:1–14 NIV

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace. What do workers gain from their toil? I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God. I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear him.