I recently helped my nine year old son to start writing a blog. Every day, I ask him the same question: ‘What’s the worst that could happen?’ He forms his answer and then, together, we illustrate it and post it online. At the time of writing, we have posted 11 of my son’s projections for the worst case scenario. These range from political satire to concern for the behaviour of his older brother, as well as worry about a duck-based explosion.
One of the joys of spending time with children can be witnessing their creativity. There is something exciting about seeing my son working out how to be funny or how to communicate a message. One of the best things about his website is the way that his personality shines through in his ideas. A cursory glance at the site would reveal his quirky, happy pessimism, as well as his love of Star Wars.
Equally, the same idea of the identity, or image, of the creator being shown in their work is also spelled out in the creation story in the Bible. God forms His creation to reflect His own personality and, while much of creation has been damaged and ruined in so many ways, it is still possible to see some of who God is in the world around us.
In the search for God’s personality in His work, our eyes are often drawn to the beautiful things: the sea or the hills maybe. On the other hand, I’m most intrigued by God’s face showing up in reaction to the worst things that happen, for example, the work of my friends who have dedicated the past few months to care for refugees. This loving engagement with ‘the worst that could happen’ is a real demonstration of what God is like.