ANOTHER BLESSED PASSAGE: “that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith” (Gal. 3:14). “That in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles”—what was that blessing of Abraham? As I went up by train through Mesopotamia, now Iraq, after the First World War, the guard called out, “Next station Ur-of-the-Chaldees.” When I got out and looked at the barren wastes and mounds of rubble, I said to an Englishman, “Well, this is the place Abraham got out of.” He replied, “Well, no wonder.” When Abraham got out of it, however, it was the center of a thriving civilization. He walked out of that thriving civilization in answer to an inner creative urge—an urge which eventuated in the founding of a great people, the Jewish people.
The spirit within him was the creative Spirit. Paul said that the promise of the creative Spirit, received by faith, is what we receive in Christ Jesus. That creative Spirit works on small and on large scales. In a YMCA in Madras, a beehive of young life, someone told of how George Williams, the founder of the YMCA, was asked, “What is the secret of your success?” He replied, “There is no secret. It is all open. We see a need, pray about it, and then do something about it.” Very simple and very effective. The secret was in the second step—pray about it. Prayer has been defined as self-surrender—self-surrender to the creative Spirit. Faith is betting your life on the creative Spirit. When this happens you desert, like Abraham, outer brilliance with no soul in it, to found creative movements. You do it by faith. Faith doesn’t do it; it’s not faith in faith, but faith which is pure receptivity that lets you receive the promised Spirit—the Spirit of Creation and Recreation. You become a creative person because possessed by the Creative Spirit.
O Creative Spirit, I receive Thee by faith. Take all my powers and put a plus to them. Think through my mind, love through my emotions, act through my will, and be through my being. Make every part creative. Amen.
AFFIRMATION FOR THE DAY: The Spirit within me—the center of creative power in the universe within me—wonder of wonders!
