I became fascinated when I first read the story of the late inventor Walter Hunt (1796 - 1859). Mr. Hunt was a brilliant man who lived in New York, working as a mechanic. We could put Mr. Hunt right up there with the likes of Edison, because when you realize that Hunt invented the the streetcar bell, a hard-coal-burning stove, artificial stone, thefountain pen, sewing machine, safety pin, a flax spinner, knife sharpener, street sweeping machinery, the velocipede, and the ice plough, and even a forerunner of the Winchester repeating rifle ... well, you see how brilliant he was.
And then you realize how sorry his story is.
You see, Hunt raely if ever followed through to make his invnetions stick. He often created the product and then let it lapse. For instance, Hunt created the safety pin, yet sold the patent for a only $400 to a man whom he owed fifteen dollars. He fumbled about and failed to patent his sewing machine at all, wondering if it would put seamstresses out of business. The subsequent men who grabbed the rights to it made a fortune.
Hunt lacked conviction. He lacked drive. With all the talent he had, he could not pull though.
I wonder how many of us lack the drive to see God's great things done in our lives because we lack the convictions to see them through to the end? We have the faith needed to walk with Christ, for sure...but when it comes to the time to run with Christ, we wave our hand and shake our head. The blessing falls to someone else, simply because we did not have the drive.
