A living mystery

In my reading today from Walking on Water by Madeleine L'Engle, I was so struck by a couple of pages that I had to share this.  In chapter 2, she discusses our need to qualify arts as Christian or non-Christian.  She stated that the sad thing is that there are deeply committed Christians who want to do great art, write stories, compose music all for God's glory but may not have been given the talent.  However, a non-Christian or even an atheist may have an abundance of this gift.  "God is no respecter of persons, and this is something we are reluctant to face."  She goes on to say how we would like for God's ways to be our ways.  It is difficult for us to understand that God would give enormous talent to people WE think are unworthy.  We tend to qualify our own gifting based upon what the financial kick-back is to us.  We may be surprised when we get to Heaven and realize that the woman that lived a very non-public and selfless life may have had a greater impact on this world than Shakespeare himself.  To quote one of her sources, Emmanuel,Cardinal Suhard,"To be a witness does not consist in engaging propaganda, nor even in stirring people up, but in being a living mystery.  It means to live in such a way that one's life would not make sense if God did not exist."