March 25, 2009
I haven’t heard any news via groundhog but I would say its fair enough to proclaim the arrival of spring here in Kansas City. [Side note, I found out we have a groundhog or a woodchuck living under our porch. I have named him Chuck, as in Norris] After a few sporadic bouts of rain [and thunder =)] entire lawns have sprung up from ground, as well as daffodils in nearly every front yard, not excluding my own.
This morning I went for a lengthy walk/jog through our meandering suburbian streets. It was stunningly beautiful.
Beauty is a concept that has been at the forefront of my mind for weeks, and at times when I haven’t been pondering it, God has done a pleasant job reminding me of it. What is beauty? When you really stop to think about it, it is somewhat strange that we all agree that there is an attribute known as beauty. Many can even agree on certain things that possess it. However, it is a mysterious and slippery concept to try and clutch in ones hands to examine, let alone define or measure.
For the past three weeks or so, every single day has provided a window for me to at least consider the implications of beauty. For example, *every day* I have encountered a text or compliment from a friend telling me that I am beautiful, a song in the prayer room about the Lord’s beauty, or insight into His beauty in scripture and nature. I even decided to read a book called The Evidential Power of Beauty: Science & Theology Meet [which I can highly recommend] without even realizing it! Another book that I practically devoured is Visions Beyond The Veil, which is about visions of heaven, hell, and the End Times given to a group of orphans in China. All of the visions were profoundly biblical and illuminating.
On my walk today I was listening to Misty Edward’s song Eternity [go listen to it!] and got caught up thinking about all of this beauty stuff =) I was stirred in my soul to worship God, feeling like a wide-eyed child as I looked at my colorfully budding surroundings. There are times when you have to press through moods and laziness to eek out a word of praise [and doing so because He is worthy and we know that our emotions are do not dictate reality] and there are times when it comes bubbling out of you until you feel like your are going to explode. In that combustive moment I grasped the natural bond between beauty and worship. In light of this, it is no wonder so many of us are trapped in tiresome searches to worship a beauty that satisfies, be it material things, pornography, or an addiction to self-improvement [indulging in makeup, fitness, etc].
Did you know that you were actually made to gaze on Something [or should I say Someone] beautiful? Have you read the fearful and wonderful descriptions of the throne room in heaven? [Isaiah 6, Ezekiel 1, Revelation 4]
Paul talks about this nagging ache for more in 2 Corinthians 5 as he describes our present state as being in the “earthly tents”:
4For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. 6Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. 7We live by faith, not by sight. 8We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
It is in this context that we are to carry the “walk by faith, not by sight” verse. We are living for an eternal calling in Christ, with heaven as our home. Sometimes feeling the sting of being only pilgrims on the earth [Psalm 84], He has given us His Spirit as a deposit [also translated as 'down-payment'] to stir up our faith and remind us of eternity future.
At one point on my walk, I approached an impressively large and burly old tree. I curiously thought to myself, “I was created to outlive this tree.”
2 Comments
March 25, 2009 at 10:45 am
I really enjoyed this blog Alyssa!! I feel the same way you describe when I’m running along the ocean in the morning (which i actually haven’t done lately, but reading this makes me want to again!!) And the daffodils looks LOVELY! (Beauty!) in your own yard =) I’m going to listen to that song right now … (the misty one you mentioned) love, a.
May 2, 2009 at 9:09 am
“Chuck…as in Norris” made me smile. :)
And now I want to read those books!