Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation. 2 Co 5:17

You came to this site to learn more about being creative. I hope that the exercises and articles on this site help with that goal. I also hope that along the way you might think about the fountainhead of all creativity. You are probably ahead of me. I am talking about God. I know, we hear a lot of talk about God today, and much of it is pretty extreme. So, I understand if you are tempted to just surf away. Please, though, hang in there with me. Contrary to what you may have heard God is The God of Love not hate and he is the God of Creativity. He doesn't want to constrain your imagination and sense of wonder, he wants to set that free.

Quite simply, God loves you. I know, it sounds crazy. How can the being who dreamed up the entire universe and brought into being through an act of creative will love a lonely individual? I think as a writer of fiction, I am beginning to understand a tiny bit of that. It is part of the nature of the artist to love the product of his art. God loves us because he created us. Ironically, he also created us because he loved us. I know, it's mind-blowing, but it is reality.

The problem is that God did something with humanity that no other artist ever did with his creation. He gave us a free will. He made it possible for us to choose. Long ago that choice was made to separate humanity from God and sin entered the world.

The Bible says that "All have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God." (Romans 3: 23). Sin is sometimes misunderstood. Often we think about sin in terms of something terribly evil like stealing a car or taking a life. But sin, in this case is an archery term. It means to miss the mark. No one in an archery tournament wants to miss. They are all aiming at the bullseye. But they don't all hit it. Some are not strong enough to pull back the bow. Some do not have a clear sight on the target. Others release the string poorly. Like that archer we are aiming at the target, but we just don't have what it takes to hit the bulls eye - the Glory of God.

But God didn't leave us in that state. There was a solution to sin, but the cost was high. A perfect sacrifice had to be made. So, God himself in the form of Jesus Christ came to earth, lived as one of us, taught us about Himself and finally laid down his own life for us. Why? Out of love. "For God commended his love toward us in that while we were  yet sinners Christ died for us." (Romans 5.8)

The solution to sin is simple. First, accept that we are sinners and as such are separated from God. Second, realize that our own efforts can never truly bring about our re-creation in God's image. Third, to repent of our sin and ask for God's forgiveness and fourth commit ourselves to living for him. You can do this today. Here is a simple prayer. The words are not important, but if you make these words your own with sincerity, you can begin a new life in Christ.

"Dear Heavenly. Forgive me of my sin. I ask you right now for your spirit to enter my life and be my guide. In Jesus name Amen."

If you prayed that prayer and mean it, you are now part of God's eternal family. You are also on track to become part of God's new creation. If you would like help getting started in your new life, please contact me at terrimain@creativecalisthenics.com I'll get back to you with some materials.