Ogle.Session5.Reflection1
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Arts Humanities
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Dec 6, 2023
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Session 5: Reflection
Cody W. Ogle
HUM-101A: Creative Arts
Colorado Christian University
Grace Trumbo
August 27, 2023
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Session 5: Reflection
In our book
Echoes of Eden (2013),
Barrs explains that there are five aspects or
“callings” that help lead us when we are working before God. In this paper, I will discuss how
my final project engages with these five concepts, and if they can all be applied to the poem that
I have created. The five standards that Barrs (2013) writes about, tells us to glorify God in all we
do, find fulfillment for ourselves by expressing the gifts that God has given us, seek to be of
benefit to others in our communities, exercise dominion over our earth, and to set back the
boundaries of our present life that may resist our dominion.
Calling one in
Echoes of Eden (2013)
states that “we are to seek to glorify God in all we
do.” Christianity is based on love and kindness. The poem that I have written is expressed in
love, respect, admiration, and I feel that all these qualities mirror that of Christian teachings. In
the Bible, Ephesians 5:23 says “For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head
of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body.” (NIV, 2013). The marriage between a
man and woman reflects Christs love for the church. When your marriage grows and becomes
stronger this could be seen as a way of worship. Your creative expression becomes just like a
poem as you glorify your wife, you are also glorifying God in the process.
The Second calling in
Echoes of Eden
(2013) states that “we are designed to find
fulfillment for ourselves in using, developing and expressing the gifts that God has so richly
given us.” This calling falls back on the grounds that God makes us who we are, and that there is
a reason for everything. We all have our own unique talents and gifts that were given to us by
God, but these talents were designed specifically for each of us as they assist us in our lives.
These gifts from God could only impact one person, or they could reach the entire world. We
have to acknowledge that God is generous and that his gratitude should be used for us to make
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the world a better place. Just as the calling says, we must find fulfillment and express the gifts
that God has given us. In 1 Timothy 4:14, the Bible says, “Do not neglect the spiritual gift within
you, which was bestowed on you through prophetic utterance with the laying on of hands by the
presbytery.” (NIV, 2013). I am reluctant to say for certain that I was born with the ability to write
poetry in and sort of refined means, but I will say that God has given me the ability to think
critically and to write with an open heart. God’s gift to me may not be poetry, but that does not
mean I cannot try.
The third calling from Barrs in
Echoes of Eden
(2013) states “We are to seek to be of
benefit to others, so that they may be able to look at what we create and say of it, “It is good.”
The Christian artist always lives in community and is called to serve others in the development
and expression of the gifts God has given to each one for the blessing of all.” I’m not convinced
that my poem technically exemplifies this standard. One way that I can think of using a poem
like this to serve my community would be to have it published for all to see. It could be used as a
learning tool on how a husband is to look at his wife and show that this is the love that should be
felt towards your partner. With social media and the incredible amount of lust in our world today,
the traditional family is slowly becoming extinct. Proverbs 18:22 tells us
“He who finds a wife
finds what is good and receives favor from the Lord."
(NIV, 2013). A love that is supposed to last
forever, the way God intended, is slowly fading away across the entire world.
The fourth calling in
Echoes of Eden
(2013) says, “In being creative, we fulfill our
human design by exercising dominion over the earth.” This standard is saying that humans were
created to rule over God’s creation. This does not mean that are creators like Him and in his
book, Barrs mentions that we are “rather sub-creators at best”. (Barrs, 2013). To me, this means
that we are to use what God has created, such as our landscapes, tools, imaginations, and
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surroundings as a tool to reach our highest form of creativity. In my poem, I use my imagination,
and my surroundings, to create the love journey that God has written out for my wife and I.
The fifth and final calling tells us that “We are called, in all we do, including in our
creative work, to set back the boundaries of the fall, to restrain the abnormality of our present
human life in its brokenness and sorrow and of our present world that is under the curse and
therefore resists our dominion.” (Barrs, 2013) The aspect of this calling reminds us that
everything we do in our lives on earth is done to glorify God. No matter what happens here, no
matter the temptations, we are called to a higher place. We must not stray from Christ, and we
must not burden ourselves of the negativity that surrounds us. The poem I have written engages
with this standard profoundly by exemplifying the grace that God has given me by blessing me
with a Godly woman. The outside struggles that we have faced have no impact on the
unconditional love that my wife and I have for each other, and for our Lord.
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References
Barrs, J. (2013).
Echoes of Eden: Reflections on Christianity, Literature, and the Arts
.
Crossway.
Zondervan. (2013). Holy Bible: New International Version. Original works published 1973.