Painting Beautiful Pictures for People

[caption id="attachment_829" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Obviously, we can't outdo Him."][/caption]

As a believer, I often take the easy route when it comes to being Jesus for other people. I believe Jesus was loving, so I try to be loving to people. I believe God the Father granted me grace through His son, so I try to bestow grace on others. I believe the Spirit comforts me in my times of need, so I aspire to comfort the people around me who are hurting. But these are obvious ways in which we can reciprocate God's love and they don't even scratch the surface of things God has done for us. So, if "doing it for the least of these" is equal to doing it for the Lord, perhaps we should consider ALL the things He has done for us, and attempt to reciprocate those by blessing others?

Thought 1: Jesus Christ (present at the creation of the world) painted/paints us BEAUTIFUL sunrises every morning, and we actually get to see a lot of those when the clouds are peeled back, right? So, when was the last time YOU painted a beautiful picture for someone who doesn't know Jesus? As "churched" people, we often think of creating art as something Christians can only do from the stage in Sunday morning worship. You know, singing, playing an instrument, etc. for the worship service is how we're "supposed" to use our talents for God, right?

I respectfully disagree: why not put more time into utilizing your skills in the creative arts to bless people during the week? After all, there are more Monday through Saturday days than there are Sundays, right? I thought of this, recently, as a friend spoke of his role in a community presentation. He was not seemingly too excited, but he was committed to the opportunity to do something creative in his community, as a representative of Christ. I am compelled that over-emphasizing Sunday's worship makes us elitists in a club that is only one-seventh interested in glorifying God during the week.

How about you? What beautiful pictures can you paint for people outside of a Sunday morning event this week?  Will you do it?