Editorial April 28, 1980 Issue

Christ and the muse

BEULAH M. ROEGGE

Becoming inspired is a phenomenon of human life. Knowing that the real spiritual man is ever the fully endowed expression of God keeps us always at the summit of inspiration. Certainly, man doesn't know periods lacking inspiration. But the gaining of inspiration is vital to the human being. It is a manifestation of Christ reaching mankind. Through Christly inspiration we are lifted to find God and to relate this finding to our everyday living.

How does one tell the difference between this elevation received through spiritual insight and a merely emotional "high"? Emotional highs may be likened to the traditional tempest in a teapot. Everything gets all stirred up and then either settles back down where it was or spills out in a chaotic, sometimes destructive overflow.

Spiritual inspiration, on the other hand, shows the quality of its divine source. It results in permanent change and brings something more of good to earth. After a truly inspired moment—spiritual exaltation—one never returns completely to old ways of thinking, feeling, doing. Often the changed understanding results in a creative breakthrough. Artistic products of such experiences cut across centuries: today we thrill to the perceptiveness of a cave-dwelling artist, a Shang dynasty artisan, a classical Greek playwright.

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