Where do good ideas come from?

Gale force winds were involved, and flickering flames of fire. Most remarkable of all was the fact that as a result ordinary men and women began to do extraordinary things, such as speak in languages they’d never learned, share their money and personal possessions with one another and bring healing to those in the community who were ill.

The word ‘inspiration’ means ‘to breathe in’ - the breath of God - as easy as breathing in. Maybe sometimes our prayers need fewer words and more being silent and allowing God’s breath to breathe into us.

Dear Lord, thank you for the gift of your creative Holy Spirit to each of us. When we are searching for inspiration in any aspect of our life, may we take a deep breath and turn to you.

1. Where do good ideas come from? Archimedes, the Greek mathematician and inventor, is said to have discovered his famous principle of buoyancy while having a bath. In a moment of inspiration he realized that there was a correlation between his body in the bath and the water that surrounded it. Percy Spencer : Year: 1946 : What Happened: With the end of World War II, the engineer was looking for other uses for the magnetron, which generated the microwaves for radar systems. While Spencer was standing next to the device one day, a chocolate bar in his pocket melted. JK Rowling couldn’t tell you where her ideas for Harry Potter came from. She has no idea how her imagination worked so successfully to create such a popular series of novels. Ideas pop up at the most unusual times, often when they are least expected and from a source that’s impossible to identify. Some people talk of the power of the imagination, others of inspiration, literally ‘breathing in’ ideas. However, no one can clearly identify the source of good ideas. Last Sunday Christians celebrated the festival of Pentecost. It’s the time when they remember the coming of the Holy Spirit to the first Christian believers. It was a dramatic event. Bible account in Acts 2.1–4, using a modern translation

Gale force winds were involved, and flickering flames of fire. Most remarkable of all was the fact that as a result ordinary men and women began to do extraordinary things, such as speak in languages they’d never learned, share their money and personal possessions with one another and bring healing to those in the community who were ill. Christians believe that the Holy Spirit is God’s presence inside us, our creative spark, if you like – there to inspire us. The Bible shows that the Spirit has always been at work, from the creation, through the history of the Israelite nation to the events of the life of Jesus and the early church. In the Bible the Holy Spirit is often portrayed by means of symbols: these include wind, flames, breath and the form of a dove. Usually when the Holy Spirit appears it’s to enable ordinary people to do extraordinary things. That would be part of the answer a Christian believer would give to my original question: Where do good ideas come from? The Spirit is in you and is in me because we’re part of the human race. This is what the Bible means when it says that God created us in his image. Some Christians believe that it’s because of the presence of God in each of us that we’re alive at all. (The Bible uses the same word for Spirit and for breath.) When we take leaps of imagination, and show new levels of creativity or invention, it’s as if we’re acting a little like God. All of us. But the Pentecost festival is about Christians believing that even more is possible. Pentecost shows God taking to new levels the creativity, imagination and action of those who believe in Jesus Christ. Time for reflection The word ‘inspiration’ means ‘to breathe in’. That’s why the image of the Holy Spirit as the breath of God is so helpful. In times when we need a little extra, it’s as easy as breathing in. Maybe sometimes our prayers need fewer words and more being silent and allowing God’s breath to breathe into us. Prayer Dear Lord, thank you for the gift of your creative Holy Spirit to each of us. When we are searching for inspiration in any aspect of our life, may we take a deep breath and turn to you. Amen.