#4 Restore our Heritage... of Godly Creativity

The fourth of the seven 'ancient wells' which we are praying God would unblock, is that of Godly creativity.

C.S. Lewis, best-known for the Chronicles of Narnia, was Professor of Medieval and Renaissance Literature at Magdalene College, Cambridge.

His conversion to Christian faith, which he describes in his autobiography Surprised by Joy was not a sudden thing, but rather the eventual inevitable conclusion of two things. The first was his pursuit of Truth. For C.S. Lewis, a critical search for real answers to life's questions didn't draw him away from Christianity but rather towards it. He later wrote, "a young Atheist cannot guard his faith too carefully. Dangers lie in wait for him on every side".

The second thing which drew him to faith was his experience of Joy, which he defined as the experience "of an unsatisfied desire which is itself more desirable than any other satisfaction". He saw joy as pointing beyond itself to God. He explains, "The books or the music in which we thought the beauty was located will betray us if we trust to them; it was not in them, it only came through them, and what came through them was longing. These things—the beauty, the memory of our own past—are good images of what we really desire; but if they are mistaken for the thing itself, they turn into dumb idols, breaking the hearts of their worshipers. For they are not the thing itself; they are only the scent of a flower we have not found, the echo of the tune we have not heard, news from a country we have never yet visited".

C.S. Lewis' life and work demonstrates clearly the creativity that results from pursuing truth and joy in God. Pray with us for that heritage of creativity to be restored in Cambridge:

Father God,
Thankyou that you are a Creator, and you make everything beautiful in its time. Thank-you that you have made us in your image as creative beings. Would you again captivate the imagination of people in Cambridge with the story of Jesus. Would you fill us to overflowing with songs and stories and works of art that resonate with ultimate reality. Would you restore that heritage of creativity in Cambridge today. Do it again! Revive your works in these days, we pray.
In Jesus' Name,
AMEN.

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To hear more about C.S. Lewis and other creative Cambridge Christians, please join us this afternoon at 2pm for the next of this week's 'Restore our Heritage' Guided Walks.