"For this must perforce be so; men will no longer look up, nor otherwise take any account of good reputation; little by little the ruin of their whole life is effected; all greatness of soul dwindles and withers, and ceases to be emulated, while men admire their own mortal parts, and neglect to improve the immortal."
"For beautiful words are, in a real and special sense, the light of thought."
"...and if one were to look upon life all around, and see how in all things the extraordinary, the great, the beautiful stand supreme, he will at once know for what ends we have been born."
-Longinus, "On the Sublime," circa 3rd century A.D.
God has set eternity in the hearts of men.
" For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse."- Romans 1:20
Lessons in Contentment from Streams in the Desert:
"I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content" (Phil. 4:11).
"Paul, denied of every comfort, wrote the above words in his dungeon. A
story is told of a king who went into his garden one morning, and found
everything withered and dying. He asked the oak that stood near the
gate what the trouble was. He found it was sick of life and determined
to die because it was not tall and beautiful like the pine. The pine was
all out of heart because it could not bear grapes, like the vine. The
vine was going to throw its life away because it could not stand erect
and have as fine fruit as the peach tree. The geranium was fretting
because it was not tall and fragrant like the lilac; and so on all
through the garden. Coming to a heart's-ease, he found its bright face
lifted as cheery as ever. "Well, heart's-ease, I'm glad, amidst all this
discouragement, to find one brave little flower. You do not seem to be
the least disheartened." "No, I am not of much account, but I thought
that if you wanted an oak, or a pine, or a peach tree, or a lilac, you
would have planted one; but as I knew you wanted a heart's-ease, I am
determined to be the best little heart's-ease that I can." "Others may do a greater work,
But you have your part to do;
And no one in all God's heritage
Can do it so well as you."
They who are God's without reserve, are in every state content; for
they will only what He wills, and desire to do for Him whatever He
desires them to do; they strip themselves of everything, and in this
nakedness find all things restored an hundredfold."
"And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And
he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful"- Revelation 21:5.
Over and over again the words of Christ bring hope and liberation to the human heart. He came to set the captives free- free from ourselves, from striving, from legalism, and from death. The grace of Christ breathes life to those who look to Him for help. He speaks to us beautiful things and promises of new life. He is the fountain of life itself, that bubbles up to an overflowing of Living Water. The power of Christ is so great that He can take the darkest, ugliest, and most burnt piece of human life and make something new and beautiful out of it.
"He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity
in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from
beginning to end"- Ecclesiastes 3:11.
Last spring, I was part of a worship afterglow where students and staff were waiting on the Lord. One amazing woman of God spoke a vision she saw. She saw a burnt ground filled with ashes. A bright green seedling was pushing up from the harsh ground. The new life she saw was beautiful.
Though God allows fires to blaze through our lives, He is perfectly faithful to bring new life again- in His way and for His glory. God's grace is so powerful that this course of events is not something we can manufacture, but only something we can trust Him for, wait on, and receive. At one time I could barely hope this to be true, but now I see it to be real.
There is such freedom and strength in this verse: "Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it."- 1 Thess. 5:23-24.
God continues to work in us the ministry of surrender. This invokes a growing trust that Jesus has the best in store. I must continually surrender my will and accept the Father's best for my life. May we welcome His will and desires in this New Year. In meditating on God's heart for this New Year, He spoke one word to me: beautiful. And he reminded me of the vision I mentioned above. All He said was beautiful, and that is so much more than enough to hear!
Have a joyful New Year, and may you experience the surpassing beauty of God as His grace pours out on you and yours in 2014!
"And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us, And establish the work of our hands for us; Yes, establish the work of our hands."- Psalm 90:17
