We are walking near the water's edge, Justin and I, hearts
joined in silent worship. The waves form gentle
peaks, each one coming and breaking in perfect rhythm; the sun dazzles, reflecting uopn glistening water; and us, we pause, we look, we
see His brilliance.
The beauty of what surrounds us points to Him in such vivid
detail. We can’t deny His existence. All people have experienced these moments:
a beauty that the most gifted writer
could never describe; a beauty that the most talented artist could never
capture; a beauty that can only be experienced when His hand of providence
brings you to an actual moment in time.
To believe that He created all this to glorify Himself is
easy to understand. To believe that He created all this for us to enjoy? That
seems too much, too good.
We stand looking out, overwhelmed at His goodness, feeling
as though, for this one moment, the beauty we’re enjoying could only be
described as… perfect.
As Justin and I stood there, a white seagull walked across the sand
in front of us. This seagull had a broken wing, and as it walked, it dragged this broken
wing beside it in the sand. The peace was totally shattered
as we watched this poor, broken creature. It almost hurt to watch.
The beauty we know in this life will always be a broken one;
the creation we enjoy always groaning under the weight of sin.
That bird should have been soaring, adding one
more fine detail to the perfect scene.
But perfect this world is not; it is groaning, and we a part
of it. We need redemption. We need a Redeemer.
God has given us eyes to see that which is beautiful. But God has also given us eyes to see that our world is terribly broken, that we need Someone to fix it, that we need Christ to redeem us.
In this life, He gives us overwhelming beauty and joy. But
in His grace, it’s a beauty and joy that is never perfect, but
instead always shadowed, somehow, by the affects of sin.
Near the end of the bible, we read an amazing description
of the time when Jesus will return, take what is broken, and make all
things new.
"Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!~ Revelation 21
