Dig out

One day a farmer lost his hammer in a field.

After looking for it for hours, he called in a friend with a metal detector to help. A hammer could do great damage to expensive harvesting machines.

Eventually, they found the hammer, but they also found something else. To their amazement and delight, they found a treasure trove of coins, tableware, and jewelry dating back to A.D. 408.

This is the true story of farmer Peter Whatling and his friend Eric Lawes from Suffolk, UK. In 1992 they found the largest cache of Roman gold found anywhere in the Roman Empire. They received a finder’s fee of 1.75 million British pounds and the treasures can now be viewed in the British Museum.

Photo credits: Hoxne Hoard Body Chain, British Museum; Bracelets, Wikimedia own work; Pepper Pots, Mike Peel, all on Wikimedia

Our creativity is like a hidden treasure.

Jesus described the Kingdom of God as a treasure hidden in a field (Matthew 13:44). Though this analogy pertains to salvation, the principle of taking ownership of the gifts that God gives us can be applied to many areas of our lives, including our creativity.

Creative potential is like a buried treasure. To use your creative potential, you need to recognize that it is a treasure, dig it up, and get it working for you. It will not simply work magically by itself. There is ownership and work required on your part.

Imagine your creativity is a precious oil lamp.

When it is filled with good oil, it burns brightly, lighting up everything around it.

Perhaps the oil of your lamp keeps running out and you need to learn to top it off.

Maybe your lamp is buried. Your creativity may have been suppressed over time under the weight of deliverables, to-do lists, bills, fears, or other people’s expectations.

If this resonates with you, you may find yourself feeling a deep fatigue you can’t shake off, a restlessness, emptiness, or a general dissatisfaction with the world. You may vaguely remember a life you wanted to live that has since evaporated away into a dream, leaving you plodding a mundane and joyless path. It’s time to dig out that lamp, clean it off, fill it, light it, and let it shine to the glory of your Creator!

Creative exercise

Draw or paint a picture of your creative lamp.

Think about the value of creativity in your life. Write in a journal about this question.

Prayer

Thank you, Lord, for the gift of creativity that You have buried into the field of my life. Help me to understand and value this treasure. Be my Guide as I go through the process of digging out, cleaning off, filling up, and lighting the ‘lamp’ of my creativity. May I use it to serve Your purposes in my life. Amen.