Unless a grain of wheat is buried in the ground, dead to the world, it is never any more than a grain of wheat. But if it is buried, it sprouts and reproduces itself many times over. In the same way, anyone who holds on to life just as it is destroys that life. But if you let it go, reckless in your love, you’ll have it forever, real and eternal. John 12:24-25 (MSG)

Something From Nothing – The Creative Series – Part 3

Go to PART 1  |  PART 2  |  PART 3  |  PART 4  |  PART 5  |  PART 6  |  PART 7

There is something about death that makes way for new life. Resurrection.

I write most days. And it's the hardest and the best thing I’ve ever done. For me to put these ‘devotions' (more like conversations) out into the world, which take 5 minutes to read, costs me my heart and soul. I pour everything I have into them. Every day I put to death the fear of what you will think of them, I put to death the fear of not being good enough, the ease of staying in my comfort zone, my ego that wants to stay closed up and isolated – safe. I’ve turned down jobs, quit jobs; risked my reputation, money, time and energy – all of it – for this little project and practice called Pocket Fuel.

Death has had to take place within me so that new life can be created from me. If I hold onto life as it is – comfortable, stable, stationary – I lose the opportunity to turn it into all it can be.

Most people who create stuff will tell you that sometimes works of art come from deep pain, and can cost the world, which somehow, miraculously, brings forth beauty. Not just for works of art, but our creativity in relationships, family, marriage, work… Even things like cleaning and organizing and planning. There’s something about pain that makes us dig deep.

When I gave birth to my two children, the pain was unlike anything I have ever experienced. I felt like I was being torn in two. I was stunned and amazed with what I could endure within my own body. And at the end of that pain was something utterly miraculous. New life.

What does God make new? Where’s the new life Jesus spoke of?
It’s easy to say, “our hearts, of course.” But how does that play out in real time? Do you feel new? Does it happen in an instant? When you stuff up or hurt someone, and then you pray and repent, do you automatically feel renewed at that moment? Or does it happen as we live day-by-day, rather than in a single moment?

Sometimes I wish God was more like a magician, pulling rabbits out of his hat. Making something from nothing. Not there one second, present the next. Instantaneous creation. Like a cure for cancer, the end of terrorism, the eradication of political corruption, freedom, and equality for all.

And while I absolutely believe that the Divine can make something from nothing, I think God prefers to make something with us and from us. The Divine makes US new. He mixes divinity and humanity graciously together and releases us into our lives to further the work. While some sit back waiting for God to wave his Harry Potter wand over the earth and change things, he’s asking us to be part of the “something new” that his creative energy longs to do. Transformation and participation go hand in hand in the divine creative process that makes even old things – our lived in, used up lives – seem fresh and new.

Go to Part 4 – The Newness He Creates »

Written by Lizzy Milani

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