A Boomer in the Pew

Paul Potts, Nessun Dorma, and the Beauty of God

Take four minutes and watch the debut of Paul Potts singing Nessun Dorma on Britain's Got Talent. 

Go ahead, I'll wait...

Now.  How are you feeling?  I don't know about you, but I have tears on my cheeks and was deeply moved.

Along with the exuberant audience, and the millions upon millions of people who have watched this particular moment in time, I find great beauty in Paul's musical expression.

The unexpected beauty of Paul Pott's voice, my favorite operatic aria, the joy of watching Paul share his gift, the expressions of joy exhibited by the audience the moment Paul got his first phrase delivered, the tears on the faces of those present, and the eruption of applause at the conclusion.

One of the most primal drives in the heart of every man, woman, and child is our common longing and yearning for beauty.  And, when we find a glimpse, we want more and more.

Did you watch this video twice?  I did.  Have you ever had a second piece of your favorite pie?  Are their pictures and paintings on your refrigerator and the walls of your house that bring beauty and joy to your life?  Do you have treasured pictures and videos of loved ones on your cell phone and computer?

In my many hours of early morning theological study over the past few years, I've really struggled getting my mind around what the beauty of God might be.  Try as I may, and to my constant frustration, it seemed as though I found more beauty in things that I found here on earth than in God.

Then, thanks to Steve Dewitt and his recent book Eyes Wide Open (affiliate link), the light bulb went on.

I found great beauty in the Paul Potts moment.  In fact, so much beauty that I wanted more.  

So, if I find great beauty in this moment, in Paul's voice, in my favorite aria, in the common joy of millions around the world, imagine how transcendentally beautiful must be the Creator of absolutely everything in this moment?

As I contemplate that thought, and let it ruminate in my mind, I begin to understand how beautiful God really is.  He created everything in which I find and enjoy beauty. 

I recall a song from my youth ... "Oh Lord, you're beautiful, your face is all I need". (link)

Oh my soul, when you find us in the presence of great beauty, turn the wonder of the moment into praise of God. 

Yearning for the Beauty Behind the Beautiful

This is a photograph of Sadie Grace Unkovich that I swiped (with permission) from her mother's Facebook page.

This is the very first granddaughter of a very dear friend, and ever since Sadie's birth a few short months ago, I've noticed a wellspring of joy, love, happiness, and generosity flowing deep from within her heart.

And who wouldn't?  Oceans of emotions arise to anyone who spends a few minutes exploring this beautifully captured moment.

Not to take anything away from beautiful Sadie, or the ceaseless joy I find in all those around her, I not only find great beauty in this scene, but I find myself also drawn to the beauty of her Creator.

Nicholas Kallivourtzis, an 18th-century theologian said:

“Every time you feel in God’s creatures something pleasing and attractive, do not let your attention be arrested by them alone, but passing by them, transfer your thought to God and say: ‘O my God, if Thy creations are so full of beauty, delight and joy, how infinitely more full of beauty, delight and joy are Thou Thyself, Creator of all!’”

Think about all of the beautiful experiences that have come your life's way.  A sunset, a snow-capped mountain, the ocean, a lake; watching a marriage ceremony, fire fighters selflessly running into the World Trade Center on 9/11, or even beautiful baby Sadie Grace.

If these things are so delightfully beautiful to our senses, how infinitely more beautiful must be the Creator of all.

Oh my soul, yearn most of all for the beauty that exists behind the beautiful.

 

 

Attempting to Understand Suffering Through the Eyes of Job

Job, by Léon Bonnat

I need to make a confession: I am stubborn man, and my stubborn pride many times prevents me from quickly learning the things that God would have me learn.  

I can't begin to tell you how many times I've learned life's lessons the hard way.  Experience is a good teacher, but many times painful.

You should also know that I possess stubbornesses kind cousin, determination. I many times get them confused with one another.

This year, I'm making another annual journey through the Bible, but this year I decided to make my journey through Eugene Peterson's  The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language (affiliate link).

There is hard-wired in every man, woman, and child a sense of justice.

We know, for example, that a man should not rape a woman. And, God forbid, if a man does rape a woman, we feel a sense of justice when he is apprehended and locked away in jail for many, many years.

We say to ourselve's, he had it coming.  He performed great evil, and got his just rewards.

Eugene Peterson say's this in his introduction to the book of Job:

"One of the surprises as we get older, however, is that we come to see that there is no real correlation between the amount of wrong we commit and the amount of pain we experience. An even larger surprise is that very often there is something quite the opposite: We do right and get knocked down. We do the best we are capable of doing, and just as we are reaching out to receive our reward we are hit from the blind side and sent reeling. This is the suffering that first bewilders and then outrages us. This is the kind of suffering that bewildered and outraged Job, for Job was doing everything right when suddenly everything went wrong. And it is this kind of suffering to which Job gives voice when he protests to God." (Peterson, Eugene H. (2011-03-11). The Message Numbered Edition Hardback (Kindle Locations 22152-22157). Navpress. Kindle Edition.)

In our minds, we really, really struggle with something that might be called unjust suffering.  

We cry out when a loved one dies unexpectantly, when we are unjustly wronged, or when a great depression ravages the savings we've worked all our lives for.  This list is endless.  

In the book of Job we feel for Job's seemingly unjust suffering.  Why, God himself tells Satan that there is no one quite like Job.  Job is honest and true to his word, totally devoted to God and hates evil.

Yet, God seems quite willing to let Job go through intense suffering by taking all that he has.  His wealth, his health, his children, and even the respect of all that know him.

To further Job's pain, three of his friends come along and repeatedly instruct him that his suffering is brought about by his sin. To which Job vehemently spends thousands of words refuting.

However, in spite of the finger-pointing of Job's friends, or the "God wants you rich, healthly, and happy" mentality of many in today's church, the truth that Job teaches us is that suffering is a mystery.

In fact, God, in the contemporary language of The Message comes to Job and says, "I’m in charge of all this— I run this universe!"

Job wisely submits to God sovereignty, and says, "I'm sorry - forgive me.  I'll never to that again, I promise!"

Now, before you quibble about Job's response, you simply must read the whole book of Job.  Only then will you have the beginnings of an understanding.  Deal?

Here's a final thought from Eugene Peterson's prologue to the book of Job:

"When people go through suffering, their lives are often transformed, deepened, marked with beauty and holiness, in remarkable ways that could never have been anticipated before the suffering. So, instead of continuing to focus on preventing suffering— which we simply won’t be very successful at anyway— perhaps we should begin entering the suffering, participating insofar as we are able— entering the mystery and looking around for God."  

I don't know about you, but I've learned that the thumb-sucking woe-is-me attitude hasn't served me very well.  

Oh my soul, in suffering, learn to enter the mystery and look around for God.

Even as I write those words, my heart says, but God, can't I just have my life's savings back.

Oh, the journey continues...

Pondering the Passing of Another Year

 

As beings who live within the construct of time, the marking of time is a behavior common to all those who draw breath.

To keep track of this thing called time, we have watches, iPhones, computers, the sun, the moon, the stars, calendars, and the passing of time is clearly evident in the aging of our bodies.

Today, as we collectively add a higher digit to our calendars, my morning reading in the Bible had me contemplating this creation of God that we call time.

You see, according to the Genesis account, time was something that was created and had a beginning: 

And God said, 

“Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. (Genesis 1:3-5 ESV)

Furthermore, the book of Revelation tells us that a day is coming when time will be no more.  A new heaven and a new earth will usher in a new paradigm of eternity to the children of God.

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. (Revelation 21:1 ESV)

So you see, out of eternity past, God has measured out a construct that we call time.  It has a beginning, and it has an end.  

Giving further consideration to this thing called time, when Jesus began his public ministry, the first words out of his mouth were:

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 3:2 ESV)

So, it would appear that we are nearing the end of this thing called time.  As the Mayans have recently demonstrated, no one knows when this day will be.