Author of Creativity

"Behold I stand at the door and knock;

if anyone hears and listens to and heeds My voice

and opens the door, I will come to them and will eat

with them, and they will eat with Me."

Revelation 3:20

Christ Knocking On The Door

 Warner Sallman

(1892-1968)

American Artist

I am troubled about a quality of blandness in our nation today,

a lack of creativity. It's apparent in our leaders. Most gear their lives

to television ratings, are afraid to take stands on the issues.

Movie and stage plays focus on sex and violence, with

little originality. Sex so dominates advertising and the arts

that it has become commonplace, almost boring.

Jesus lashed out at the spiritless quality in the people of His time:

"I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot.

I wish you were either one or the other!

So, because you are lukewarm-neither hot nor cold-

I am about to spit you out of My mouth."

Revelation 3:15-16

One of our new neighbors is no longer trapped in a

bland way of life. Yet for the first twelve years of her marriage,

Cynthia felt she was losing her identity in the endless procession

of social events and chauffeuring of children.

In search of answers, Cynthia set aside an hour each day for

meditation. As she did this over a period of weeks there came to

her the realization that she was being met in this quiet hour,

at her point of need, by something more than her own thoughts

and her own psyche, by Someone Who loved her and Who

insisted that His love must be passed on to her family and her friends.

"I realized one day that my church had little more meaning for me

than did our country club," Cynthia said. "I called our pastor and

asked if there was a Bible study."

That's what brought Cynthia and her husband to our house, where

eight couples were already meeting twice a month to find ways

to relate the Bible to some everyday problems we were all facing.

Out of this experience has come a new level of shared concerns

for us all and the exciting discovery of answers sought out together.

As I ponder Cynthia's story, I've concluded that we don't have to

settle for blandness in life; God Who is the Author of creativity,

is ready to make a dull life adventuresome the moment we allow

His Holy Spirit to go to work inside us.

"Author of Creativity"

A devotional written by

Catherine Marshall

(1914-1983)

Prolific Christian writer and speaker