Tag: Beauty

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Our Grand Globe

Reading Time: 2 minutes

O Lord, what a variety of things you have made! In wisdom you have made them all. The earth is full of your creatures. Here is the ocean, vast and wide, teeming with life of every kind, both large and small. See the ships sailing along, and Leviathan, which you made to play in the sea. Psalms‬ ‭104‬:‭24‬-‭26‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The Psalmist often writes about God’s majesty and compares it to the grandness of the oceans of the world. I never get tired of looking out over the vast beauty of the sea! Whether I sit and gaze from a cliffside perch, dig my toes in the sand where the waves continually crash upon the shore, or look out from the bow of a ship sailing the deep blue depths where the horizon goes on forever. It is always an ominous moment. And, because I agree with the Psalmist of who created the massively vast ocean, I too am overwhelmed with God’s creativity.

Imagine sailing a great ship in ancient days and seeing a Leviathan, a giant sea creature playfully rise from the water and then disappear. Terrifying right? I have a tremendous respect for both the water and the beasts that live within it.

These are the visions and feelings the Psalmist wants us to emote about the grandness of God in all His glory. By the way, science has scoured the universes as far as they can telescopically see, searching for life out there somewhere. Our culture is obsessed with aliens and other life forms beyond the blackness and twinkling stars in the night sky. So far… nothing. Are we so unique and alone in creation. Is the earth deemed the “dark planet” as C.S. Lewis proposes in his space trilogy books? I don’t know.

However, I do know that God created a beautiful planet and determined to create us and give us this place to work, live and play. Even with its ominous dangers of places on the earth, and the even more dangerous humans who are broken and inhospitable, this place is still amazing. I agree with the author of this Psalm, what a great God we serve and what a glorious variety of things He has made.

Prayer

​Dad,
This place, this spinning, floating miracle is absolutely stunning to behold and explore. And the myriad of creatures and variety of plants are spectacularly amazing. From the mountains to the valleys, the deserts and the seas, we enjoy the beauty of all your creation. Thank you. As I fly past my five second neighbors on the highways of my city, I am also reminded of the individual beauty and wonder you created in every human being I see. Thank you for them as well. Let everything and everyone that has breath praise you for your unending beauty and grace! Amen.

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With handsome heart.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. 1 Samuel‬ ‭16‬:‭7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Samuel, being God’s king-maker, heads out on a secret mission to find the next king of Israel – while Saul is still the sitting king! Saul’s own story of coming from obscurity to opulence and the highest position in the land is outrageously funny and sad, like a dark comedy. Saul was tall and very handsome, he LOOKED like a king in making, until he opened his mouth. Now Samuel is once again on a search, this time for a successor.

He arrives in Bethlehem under the ruse of sacrificing to God. A plan God gave Samuel as a coverup. Sneaky God! The little town of Bethlehem leaders were nervous when God’s spokesperson shows up. What’s wrong? The elders ask. Nothing, Samuel smoothly replies. Can’t a prophet come to a tiny, insignificant town, with a heifer in tow just to randomly sacrifice to the Lord? Geez…suspicious much? Of course it’s not normal, but look over here at this amazing feast.

Jesse brings his family to the sacrifice party, as instructed. As Jesse’s boys file in, Samuel immediately takes one look at the eldest son and says, “bingo,” that’s the one. Eliab was a looker! Job done, right? Nope. God says to Samuel a comment that’s been used thousands of times over the eons – “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” ‭‭1 Samuel‬ ‭16‬:‭7‬ People judge by looks, but God judges by the heart. Eliab may be pretty, but his heart is lacking.

Jesse brings up all seven of his sons – I’m sure they were all handsome men! But, none of them are who God was looking for. Samuel is puzzled. “Is this all your sons?” he asks. Jesse then remembers he’s got an eighth son. The eighth boy is so young and seemingly insignificant that it never even crosses Jesse’s mind to invite him to a “family” sacrifice party; not common today for the “baby” of the family. Jesse tells Samuel, “oh yeah, there’s one more, but he’s out in the fields watching the sheep and goats.” Samuel tells Jesse, “send for him, we’ll wait to eat until he gets here.” I am sure the entire family were beside themselves trying to figure out what Samuel is really there for and what he is really looking for. Young David was probably about 12 years old, if not younger!

David arrives from the fields and it is Samuel who comments on HIS looks! “He was dark and handsome, with beautiful eyes.” Fact is, Jesse and his wife, Nitzevet, made eight hunky, handsome dudes! And the Lord said, “This is the one; anoint him.” So as David stood there among his brothers, Samuel took the flask of olive oil he had brought and anointed David with the oil. And the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David from that day on.” It would take 18 years before David actually became king of Israel. David’s handsome looks got him in a ton of trouble while serving as king, but it was eventually his handsome heart that God saw in him all along. Oddly enough David had good looking sons as well – Absalom was VERY handsome (2 Samuel 14:25) and so was Solomon! Which would you choose, handsome looks or a handsome heart?

Prayer

Dad,
I can understand how you look at the heart more than you look at our appearances, but people DO look at appearances. And, there are good looking people across all ethnicities and cultures. It cannot be that beauty is only in the eye of the beholder, as Shakespeare wrote. It can’t be that all judgement of beauty is subjective. Sure with art forms and perceptions it may be true, but with such views as faces and stature, it seems that these features have always been honored. I have personally met folks with a beautiful soul as well. And sometimes it’s as though their innate persona gave off a particular glow of beauty about them. It seemed as though I was smitten by their inner grace, mercy and humility. Beauty from what is not seen and beauty from what is seen. What a mystery! I am thankful that we are all image bearers of Yours! Amen.

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Winter is passing, spring is arriving!

Reading Time: 3 minutes

“Ah, I hear my lover coming! He is leaping over the mountains, bounding over the hills. My lover is like a swift gazelle or a young stag. Look, there he is behind the wall, looking through the window, peering into the room. My lover said to me, “Rise up, my darling! Come away with me, my fair one! Look, the winter is past, and the rains are over and gone. The flowers are springing up, the season of singing birds has come, and the cooing of turtledoves fills the air. The fig trees are forming young fruit, and the fragrant grapevines are blossoming. Rise up, my darling! Come away with me, my fair one!” ‭‭Song of Songs‬ ‭2‬:‭8‬-‭13‬ ‭NLT‬‬

If someone were to ask me to summarize the book of “Song of Solomon,” I would point them to experts who have tried to unravel the mystery and controversy of this book. The book was included in “official” version of what biblical scholars call the “authorized text.” And, it is included in the Bible we have today. But, even still, no one can really tell us why it made it! The Jews listed it among their writings as poetry and wisdom. Most current pastors and teachers try not to use the book in any serious theological understanding of God, or practical application to our lives. It is often sidelined to marriage retreats or shock-n-awe value for single adult groups. It has been given whispered warning labels, NSFK (not safe for kids), among parents and kid’s pastors. The Bible Knowledge Commentary writes, “The Song of Songs is perhaps the most difficult and mysterious book in the entire Bible. A cursory glance at the Song’s history of interpretation reveals a diversity of opinion unequaled in the study of any other biblical work. The Song has been interpreted as: (a) an allegory, (b) an extended type, (c) a drama involving either two or three main characters, (d) a collection of Syrian wedding songs, (e) a collection of pagan fertility cult liturgies and (f) an anthology of disconnected songs extolling human love.” That said, it is lovely read, filled with beauty and wonder-words that are perfect to peruse on a summer morning! ​

“A Song of Springtime. This beautiful song describes the young maiden watching her beloved come to her. He calls her to join him in the countryside, where the winter has passed and the new life of spring can be seen in the land. The beauty of young love here is likened to the blossoming forth of fresh life and fragrance that characterizes Palestine in spring.” *Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible.

This also reminds me of an amazing allegorical work, C.S. Lewis’, the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. The white witch had cast a evil season of permanent winter. It was so long and so harsh that the people of Narnia practically forgot there were EVER any other seasons to be seen. Winter has often represented death. However, in our natural seasons it always gives way to spring, summer, then fall.

In the allegorical parallel, the same goes for the young maid who waits for her love to return. And, he arrives just in time for the full swing of love, beauty, song, smells and sounds of spring. I am reminded, as culturally dark as it may feel, winter is but a season. And Jesus, who wields power over all that exists, is coming back – soon. And with him, he will bring a spring so glorious, so beautifully bountiful that we will forget all about the long harsh season of death and will embrace him and God’s kingdom of heaven here on earth.

Prayer

Dad,
It’s summer now, at least as seasons go. But in reality, in our world, it feels an awful lot like winter. Our souls are weary. Our spirit is holding on to hope that you are coming. Not in the coming of the rapture, the parousia, the catching away. No, that you are coming with another revolution. To pour out your spirit on searching flesh. Would you once again speak, giving dreams, visions and words directly to those who have not just tasted the lies, but swallowed them and are re-distributing them to the innocent, the unaware! Have mercy on us Oh God. Bring spring, let your love sweep across land like a husband racing towards his beloved bride. Come quickly Lord Jesus, we wait for you.