From Zion, perfect in beauty, God shines forth.
God calls us to both participate in and transform our culture. Amidst the moral, immoral, and amoral elements of culture all across the world God has planted divine seeds of truth that point to Him. (For example, the Passover in ancient Jewish culture preparing and pointing to Christ's death for the roughly 1,400 years preceding the actual event.) As Christians we are called to find and nurture these seeds, to help flesh them out, to allow them to grow to maturity. Because these seeds are so ingrained in the culture, and because we are in part products of our culture, when they bloom in the ways God intended, his power and love are easily perceived and comprehended. And yet because we are fallen men, these divine seeds have often been allowed to grow in barren and misguided ways. Our first impulse when we see these aberrant growths is to curse them and withdraw from the culture that produced them. But we must learn to see original intent in the twisted branches and like a great gardener or sculpter reshape and guide until beauty breaks forth. The power to transform comes first from affiliation, the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and then transcendance, we have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father full of grace and truth. We must engage in our culture, and when necessary stand in stark relief to it, steadfast like a boulder in the river.
Our culture has an insatiable appetite for beauty, the evidence for which is apparent everytime you turn on the tv or wait in line to pay for groceries. We, along with many other cultures past and present, have crossed one too many lines in our quest for temporal and quickly fading beauty. But as John Eldridge points out in his writings, desire reveals design. We have such appetites because we were created with an enormous capacity for beauty, a capacity that will never be fully realized in this life, in part because we would die on the spot if it were. God, as the psalmist said above, shines forth, perfect in beauty. This is a beauty that is expressed through His attributes, the essence of who He is, as well as the physical manifestation of His prescence (Rev 4). In the things He has created and in the hearts of those changed by His Spirit we can see muted reflections of His beauty. Because of the reflective nature of this beauty, directing men from the beginning of time to His love, we must as Christians, cultivate, protect, and champion beauty in its many forms.
From a practical standpoint this means a myriad of things I don't even pretend to know, but here are some ideas. a.) Becoming gardeners. Both my mother and mother-in-law have excelled at this and to sit in either of their yards in summer is to know that God exists. b.) By exposing both ourselves and our children to great art and timeless music. Our culture is full of mediocre expressions of both, counterfeits, that serve to conceal our hunger. As Christians we must champion and promote excellence in the arts which will only deepen and increase the hunger for eternal beauty. c.) By cooperating with the Holy Spirit as he seeks to weave compassion, grace, gratitude, and courage into the fabric of our personalities. All of the attributes of a Spirit-led life are beautiful, but these four move me when I see them expressed in others. Seeing others act in these ways compels me to respond likewise. Jesus was all these things to perfection in the most beautiful life ever lived and through His power we can faintly but powerfully echo in a way that will resonate with those searching for Him. d.) By caring for and beautifying public spaces. e.) By encouraging those who are gifted in the arts, architecture, design, city planning, etc.. to go for it with all they've got for the glory of God. f.) To look up at night, around during the day, and at our neighbor with kindness.
This is just the beginning of a thought process. I am nothing like what I aspire to be. For example, I desperately need to mow my lawn, I enjoy Will Farrell movies, and I am not very compassionate, grateful, or courageous, but a desire has been born. I want more.
Our culture has an insatiable appetite for beauty, the evidence for which is apparent everytime you turn on the tv or wait in line to pay for groceries. We, along with many other cultures past and present, have crossed one too many lines in our quest for temporal and quickly fading beauty. But as John Eldridge points out in his writings, desire reveals design. We have such appetites because we were created with an enormous capacity for beauty, a capacity that will never be fully realized in this life, in part because we would die on the spot if it were. God, as the psalmist said above, shines forth, perfect in beauty. This is a beauty that is expressed through His attributes, the essence of who He is, as well as the physical manifestation of His prescence (Rev 4). In the things He has created and in the hearts of those changed by His Spirit we can see muted reflections of His beauty. Because of the reflective nature of this beauty, directing men from the beginning of time to His love, we must as Christians, cultivate, protect, and champion beauty in its many forms.
From a practical standpoint this means a myriad of things I don't even pretend to know, but here are some ideas. a.) Becoming gardeners. Both my mother and mother-in-law have excelled at this and to sit in either of their yards in summer is to know that God exists. b.) By exposing both ourselves and our children to great art and timeless music. Our culture is full of mediocre expressions of both, counterfeits, that serve to conceal our hunger. As Christians we must champion and promote excellence in the arts which will only deepen and increase the hunger for eternal beauty. c.) By cooperating with the Holy Spirit as he seeks to weave compassion, grace, gratitude, and courage into the fabric of our personalities. All of the attributes of a Spirit-led life are beautiful, but these four move me when I see them expressed in others. Seeing others act in these ways compels me to respond likewise. Jesus was all these things to perfection in the most beautiful life ever lived and through His power we can faintly but powerfully echo in a way that will resonate with those searching for Him. d.) By caring for and beautifying public spaces. e.) By encouraging those who are gifted in the arts, architecture, design, city planning, etc.. to go for it with all they've got for the glory of God. f.) To look up at night, around during the day, and at our neighbor with kindness.
This is just the beginning of a thought process. I am nothing like what I aspire to be. For example, I desperately need to mow my lawn, I enjoy Will Farrell movies, and I am not very compassionate, grateful, or courageous, but a desire has been born. I want more.
4 comments:
Painting is "The Beet Harvest" by Camille Pissarro
Only one critique of an excellent point, and primarily of the application: Will Farrel movies? Would this not fall more under the category of the twisted branch? Laughter is powerful - Scripture calls it the medicine of the soul. But one of my biggest personal dilemmas is knowing what to laugh at and when. I laugh when people swear - don't ask me why - it's a juvenile thing I fully realize. I laugh when people fall down and hurt themselves - some say this is a defense mechanism (although I'm not sure what I'm defending against - it's the other person that needs a defense if they trip). You get the point. So what is appropriate to laugh at? What truly reflects the "humor" of God - the levity of a creator (and I refuse to accept it is revealed simply in the oddities of strange animals, i.e. the giraffe or the anteater). G.K. Chesterton says, “The tremendous figure which fills the gospels towers in this respect, as in every other, above all the thinkers who ever thought themselves tall. His pathos was natural, almost casual. The Stoics, ancient and modern, were proud of concealing their tears. He never concealed His tears; He showed them plainly on His open face at any daily sight, such as the far sight of His native city. Yet He concealed something. Solemn supermen and imperial diplomatists are proud of restraining their anger. He never restrained His anger. He flung furniture down the front steps of the Temple, and asked men how they expected to escape the damnation of Hell. Yet He restrained something. I say it with reverence; there was in that shattering personality a thread that must be called shyness. There was something that he covered constantly by abrupt silence or impetuous isolation. There was some one thing that was too great for God to show us when He walked upon our earth; and I have sometimes fancied that it was His mirth.” ~ G.K. Chesterton in Orthodoxy, 170
I have been challenged at times in my Christian journey to think the thoughts of God, to let my heart beat with the heartbeat of God, to let my heart break at what breaks the heart of God, etc. But so far I have never heard a serious answer to the issue of what makes God laugh, truly, genuinely, deeply - and not in a mocking or pitiful manner.
(I think I just might post this on my blog - thanks for the provocation and I would be curious in your thoughts).
I agree with John...Will Farrel?? I was cruising along reading and trying to keep up with your thoughts and then you wrote "Will Farrel"??? It was getting late and you couldn't think of anyone more appropriate, right? What Will Farrel movies have we even seen? I hate slap-stick. What about Gene Wilder or Goldie Hawn or Tom Hanks? There are gobs more funny people who have made films that are actually digestable.
-Jen
Jen and John - I fixed the paragraph in question, it now reads a little bit clearer and should erase the controversy. Anchorman and Talledaga Nights were pretty funny, but yes, very much the opposite of beautiful.
Julie - That is such a great line from Amos Lee, in fact that should have been the title of my post. What song is that from? Because of the wickedness in this world we must strive that much harder for beauty in order to hold out a true alternative. That as Amos Lee said will be truly powerful. Thanks for the great input. Please do put up a post, I want to read about it from your angle.
I listened to a sermon online the day after I wrote this that really goes hand in hand with this post. It is at jacobswellchurch.org, the sermon from July 9th. I listened to it 3 times in a row, it is that good. If you listen to it drop me a line and let me know what you think.
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