The Creative Best
A reflection on Galatians 6:1-10
Paul’s letter to the Galatians reads more like a pep-talk for those early Christians who slipped back into old patterns of following restrictive Jewish laws to live out their faith. A group of Jewish Christians came in after Paul and told them that they still needed to be circumcised, to observe the Sabbath, and to follow Jewish Law, despite Paul telling them they didn’t have to. Paul taught they were atoned by Christ and could live freely by the Holy Spirit. His letter attempts to remind the Galatians that in Christ, there is freedom to live by the Spirit who is constantly creating something new within us.
Paul’s tone in most of the letter conveys he was pretty angry about this, but his tone is a little easier to read in The Message translation. Eugene Peterson focuses more on positive images of living creatively with the Spirit of gentleness and forgiveness instead of condemning others with harsh criticism and judgment. The true intent of Paul’s message was to lift others up, but don’t think too highly of yourself in the process. We each must take responsibility for how we live our lives.
Verse 5 specifically says: “Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life.” We could take out the word “creative” to get his message: “Each of you must take responsibility for doing the best you can with your own life,” but the word “creative” reminds us of the Spirit’s help and involvement in actually achieving “the best.” Living creatively with the Holy Spirit was how to live the best life, and they should focus on their own life instead of telling others (or having others tell them) how to live their lives.
Often, the word “creative” can have a negative connotation when referring to someone taking a “creative or poetic license” in handling factual information. They may deviate from the original intention. Living creatively by the rules may mean one finds a loophole to get away with not following the rules 100%. Finding a creative solution may also mean that one takes a different way of arriving at the desired outcome. The only reason these expressions are used negatively are typically from those who are staunch rule followers, and that was exactly the group Paul was addressing.
Living creatively by the Holy Spirit is not a negative thing; in fact, it’s the freedom we receive from Christ. Christ encourages us to live by the Spirit’s leading, and that is often fulfilling a regular dictionary meaning of the word “creative”: having the power to bring something new into being. Paul taught the Galatians that Christ has the power to bring something new into being, and so do Christians who live by the Spirit.
Living by the Spirit guides us to live our “creative best” that encapsulates Paul’s call to personal responsibility and authenticity before God. Our creative best uses one’s God-given imagination, gifts, and energy to shape a life that reflects God’s purposes uniquely through us. We bring our whole self – mind, heart, body, and spirit – into living out our faith. We live responsively to God’s call rather than reactively to comparison, competition or pressure from someone else. We honor our God-given uniqueness by crafting our life as an offering of love.
If we are accused of living “creatively” in this way as a negative, maybe that’s ok, as long as we know we are staying true to the Spirit’s leading. We live our lives, especially our faith lives, as a holy act of co-creation with God, who supplies the Spirit and the vision, and we offer our “creative best” in return. It’s less about living up to someone else’s understanding of the gospel and their demands on what it means to be a Christian, and more about participation in God’s ongoing creation. Throughout Scripture, God is always doing a new thing, so why would the Spirit stop creating now? Why wouldn’t we be invited to live our “creative best” with each new day?
May we all do our “creative best” to listen to the Spirit on how we can become more fully love, cooperate with grace, and live a life that reflects Christ’s likeness in our own God-shaped way.
Reflection Questions:
1. What does living creatively mean to you?
2. What does your creative best look like?
3. In what area of your life do you need to listen more to the Spirit? Love more? Cooperate more with God?
Action: Take one step or make one adjustment this week that helps you in this area of your life. Is it praying? Is it listening? Is it doing one act of love? Whatever it is, just do one thing.
Pray: Spirit of Creation, create in us a new way of living our faith that pleases you. Guide us to be more creative.