A guest post by Huw Tyler

To simply read the Bible as a series of factual accounts or a set of rules is to miss key layers in this deep tapestry. I love to uncover aspects of the Bible that are poetic, abstract, even visual. This is the beautiful creative story of ‘bara’ (your creator).

For the past few years I have been exploring new ways of getting into the Bible stories that we know so well. In addition to finding new perspectives, even unpacking new facts and reminding ourselves of important truths, we can discover just how creatively rich these 66 books are.

A common misconception of creativity is that it’s about dreaming brand new things. In reality, creative types and innovators often bring existing inspirations from the ideas around them and make something new. Think of iPods, Doctor Who and your car. When we look at the Biblical narrative we see something similar from our creative God – developing, restoring and resolving across generations. The Bible talks about God “making all things new (Rev 21:5)”, making you the ‘you’, you were always meant to be and “completing things previously unfinished (Phi 1:6)”.

It is true however, that the Bible tells us of the ultimate creator, the designer who started it all off, even imagining the canvas on which everything would be set. An inventor who devised light and darkness, earth and sky, time and space. This perfection should inspire us to contribute to a timeless and rich mosaic.

When we get creative with the things we think we know so well, when we expect to communicate them to others, we need to have reached to layers deeper than the black and white facts. Go add colour to your Bible. Find out who your favourite characters were so that their emotions, feelings and personalities can shape your understanding of what they did. Dig into the highly visual language of Genesis and allow this to shape your scientific understandings. Enjoy the poetry of Psalms and other books and allow this to inspire your worship. Understanding why and how are important but I would argue that this is futile, even impossible without understanding the who, where and when.

And the best way to do this…? Go create! Go try it, live in the shoes of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, Job, David, Solomon… Enjoy it, and make sure you share it.

Huw Tyler runs Share Creative, an agency that love creative ideas. They hosted The Natwivity an Easter(LIVE) as well as projects that enrich justice and discipleship. Follow @huwtyler and @sharecreative on twitter.