God’s Poetry and the Call to Create
N.T. Wright once pointed out something in Ephesians 2 that struck a chord with me. The passage tells us that we are God’s handiwork—it’s a word, he says, that conveys the idea of His poetry or artwork. It’s a stunning image, isn’t it? Not just the idea that God made us, but that He made us with the same care and creativity He put into everything else in creation. We are not afterthoughts or assembly-line products. We are intricate, intentional, and unique expressions of His divine craftsmanship.
But if that’s true, what does it mean for us? What does it mean to be the poetry of God in a world that feels more broken than beautiful most days? And what does it mean to imitate Christ, who Himself reflected God’s creative genius? It can’t mean sitting around and waiting, can it? Surely it means more than that. Wright’s point reminds us that we’re meant to be active participants in God’s unfolding plan, not just spectators on the sidelines. And this calls us to reject the idea that we should pass the time idly, waiting for God to “come back and fix it all.”
A Creative God, A Creative People
When N.T. Wright says we are God’s poetry, he’s pulling us into a deeper understanding of what it means to belong to a creative God. Look around at creation: there’s nothing random or careless about it. From the vastness of the stars to the smallest atom, everything is crafted with intention and beauty. That same creativity pulses in us because we are made in the image of that Creator.
But it doesn’t stop there. When we look at the person of Christ, we see the ultimate expression of God’s creative work. Jesus didn’t just come to patch up a broken system. He introduced something radically new—He made a way for us to be new creations. And as Paul tells us in Philippians 2, we’re meant to have the mind of Christ, to follow in His steps.
To me, that means more than just a call to holiness; it’s a call to creative action. We are meant to reflect God’s craftsmanship in the way we approach our work, our relationships, and the world around us. Being a Christian isn’t about living in default mode. It’s about letting the same creativity that built the universe flow through us into everything we do.
Creativity is a Christian’s Calling
In a way, this creative call is woven into the fabric of Scripture. Genesis doesn’t just describe God creating; it describes Him inviting us into that process of cultivation and stewardship. Even in the New Testament, we see that living in the Spirit means bearing fruit, producing something with the life God has given us.
C.S. Lewis once said that being in God’s image means we are made to “create in the same sense that He creates.” Not on His scale, of course, but in the same spirit. We’re not called to idleness, to repetitive or menial tasks just to get by until the end comes. Instead, we are to take up the same role Jesus did—creating, redeeming, and restoring wherever we go. This isn’t something we do because we have to; it’s something we do because it’s in our DNA as God’s children.
Rejecting the Fatalistic View
But here’s where we run into a problem. Too often, we fall into a sort of spiritual fatalism. We buy into this idea that God will one day destroy everything and remake it from scratch, so why bother doing anything now? We can fall into thinking that our job is just to keep our heads down, mind our own business, and bide our time until Christ returns.
This, as N.T. Wright and others have pointed out, is a massive misunderstanding of what it means to follow Jesus. The kingdom of God isn’t something we sit around and wait for—it’s something that has already broken into the world through Christ. We’re called to participate in that kingdom now. Yes, we await the fullness of it, but in the meantime, we’re meant to be His agents of renewal, His poets in action.
Wright is pushing back against a simplistic eschatology that promotes disengagement. If we think the endgame is just God wiping the slate clean, then of course we won’t bother trying to bring beauty, order, or justice to the world now. But that’s not how the New Testament frames things. The world is already being redeemed, and we’re invited to partner with God in that work. To sit on our hands is to deny our role as stewards of creation.
Creative Genius for Modern Challenges
If ever there were a time to embrace this creative calling, it’s now. The challenges we face today are like nothing the world has ever seen before. We’re dealing with environmental crises, technological upheaval, and societal fractures that demand new, creative solutions. And as Christians, we have the mind of Christ—that same divine creativity that brought order out of chaos at the beginning of time. We’re not meant to shrink back or wait for the world to get worse. We’re meant to lean into these challenges with the boldness of people who know that God is making all things new.
This is where N.T. Wright’s vision hits home for me. The idea that we are God’s poetry calls us to reject the passive, nihilistic mindset that has infected too much of our thinking. We need the creative genius of Jesus Christ working in and through us to face these challenges. And that doesn’t mean grand, sweeping gestures necessarily. It might mean small, faithful acts of creativity and care in our daily lives, but those things matter because they reflect God’s ongoing work in the world.
A Life of Creative Engagement
So, where does that leave us? If we are truly God’s handiwork, His poetry, then we can’t afford to live as if we’re just killing time until the end comes. We’re called to more than that. We’re called to reflect the creative genius of our Maker and to embody the care and intentionality that He pours into everything He makes.
It’s easy to fall into fatalism, to think that our efforts don’t matter because God is going to “fix” everything later. But N.T. Wright helps us see that this is a distortion of the Christian hope. The kingdom of God has already come in part, and we’re invited to participate in its unfolding here and now. So let’s be about that work, in whatever way God has gifted us, knowing that even our small acts of creativity are part of His grand, redemptive plan.
As God’s poetry, we have the privilege of being both His creation and His co-creators. Let’s not waste that gift. Let’s allow His creativity to flow through us as we face the challenges of today, knowing that our work is not in vain.
Kern Keep 