Wednesday, August 09, 2006

More thoughts on beauty




The Lord made beauty that is unseen and undiscovered. Crystals silently forming in rocks. Lakes glistening in hidden valleys. Flowers growing where only He sees. The fact that beauty draws, feeds and nurtures us, reveals something of who God is. For we are made like Him. Any emotion we experience doesn’t begin with us, but with Him. We simply reflect His image as we enjoy, create, and celebrate beauty.

I tend to be practical. This is shown in the gifts I give. If they are useful, I think they are good. If a church building is a simple warehouse structure that can be used in a multitude of ways, this makes sense to me. Beauty challenges this thinking, for loveliness it isn’t usually utilitarian. The stained glass windows I admired in Scotland must have been costly to create and are no more functional than ordinary windows, which surely would have cost less. Couldn’t that money have been saved and used to feed the poor? It is the same argument raised when the woman poured perfume lavishly over the feet of Jesus. He said, Leave her alone. Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me.” (Mark 14:6)

So here we see that the Lord doesn’t measure acts of service or love or any activity by its usefulness or by its practicality. Any ideas on why? What does this show us about Him?

For me, beauty is useful in one way. It reminds me that the Lord God delights to create and share beauty and He Himself is beautiful in ways I can’t begin to comprehend.

Here are more pictures that are full of beauty.

Blessings to all! Sue




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