In the Old Testament, those who knew God best experienced ongoing relationship with him. There was intimacy, not simply obedience, information, or reverence.

Adam and Eve began their story in Paradise. We don’t know how long they savored God’s presence and spent time enjoying creation. But we do know that time was far shorter than it was meant to be. When the serpent came to sway them away from God, he did so by distorting reality. He offered them a different way to see God and their story.

God is the first and most real being ever. He is the Creator of reality. But he isn’t just that. He’s the ongoing source of all reality. Anything that wants to be real must align with him, measure itself by him, and remain dependent on him.

The right way to see everything is through God’s interpretation of it.

On a recent two-day cross-country trip, I drove past a sign in the middle of nowhere that said in hand-painted letters, “God Is Real.” I was so stunned that I had to turn my truck around and drive back to take a photo of it. It was a simple yet bold proclamation.

The word “real” has been stretched so much that it’s come to mean anything and everything. Which makes it in danger of meaning nothing. We see it as a vaguely good quality. Certainly better than being fake. But if we’re going to get real, what are we being?

The next step always matters most. Especially when so many of the possible paths are meant to take us further away from God.

The world wears us out. This isn’t accidental. We are shells of who we once were, our souls numbed as if we’re on some universal Novocain.

When we look up today, there appear to be few stars. It’s as if they’ve dimmed or vanished. As have so many other things in our lives.

Bright, shiny possibilities will always vie for our attention and try to gain our loyalty as being most urgent or important. What complicates matters is that some of these people, practices, or things aren’t bad or even distractions. They just aren’t the main thing.

I have no idea which five items you selected or why you prioritized them as you did. But I do know, with absolute certainty, that there’s only one name above all other names on the list.

What is your North Star—the one constant everyone and everything else rotates around in your life?

Life isn’t as complicated as we tend to make it.

My oldest son is an electrician. A really good one. He recently shared how electricity always takes the path of least resistance.

“Things are getting weird—and they’re getting weird fast.” – Elon Musk

We love God, but we also love the pleasures of this world too much. This divided loyalty compromises our integrity and impact.

I find it fascinating that George Orwell, the author of the book 1984, has a fascinating connection to C. S. Lewis.   

Pablo Picasso famously said, “The world doesn’t make sense, so why should I paint pictures that do?”

Throughout May, I’ll be sharing three ideas per reading on a specific aspect of our creativity. I call it the ABC’s of Creativity because I focus on topics that begin with an A, B, or C. If this leaves you hungry for more, my book Waves of Creativity provides an “A to Z” gathering of ideas on creating with God. 

Throughout May, I’ll be sharing three ideas per reading on a specific aspect of our creativity. I call it the ABC’s of Creativity because I focus on topics that begin with an A, B, or C. If this leaves you hungry for more, my book Waves of Creativity provides an “A to Z” gathering of ideas on creating with God.