The Beauty of God

Taken in from a certain perspective, death is an ugly thing. The pain, separation, and grief that comes with death is not a fun thing to witness or experience. Recently, I attended two funerals for the parents/grandparents of good friends of mine. It's hard to watch people you care about in such emotional pain, knowing there's not much you can do about it except give them a shoulder to cry on if they need it. The process of death can be ugly. Often there's physical pain involved. Sometimes it can be even brutal and gruesome. Death can be an ugly thing.

Birth can be an ugly thing as well, again, when taken in from a certain perspective. The physical aspects of birth are not particularly pleasant. There's a lot of blood. It's kind of a disgusting process. There's so much pain involved in child-birth it can get unbearable to watch. As I was standing next to my wife while she gave birth to our son, the pain that was evident on her face was excruciatingly hard for me to watch.

Life can, obviously, be an ugly thing. There are things in this world that cause us to cringe; things that bring out the ugliness in us as humans.

Death. Birth. Life. They can all be ugly things.

Yet, death can be a beautiful thing. For a follower and disciple of Christ, death is going home. It's an end to pain. It's an end to sadness and the ugliness of life. Birth is a beautiful thing. It's the beginning of a brand new life in this world. It causes joy, hope, and love to well up inside those who experience it. Life, can be a beautiful thing. The experiences of a lifetime, coupled with the joy of living with those who love God and love us, bring beauty into our lives like nothing else in this world can. The beauty of a sunset; the thrill of a ballgame; the peace of a quiet lake; these all bring beauty into our lives.



So perspective, gained from what influences we choose to allow into our lives, be it good, holy and Godly, or sinful and wrong, is what determines how we see existence. God created the world simply to be. When taken in from His perspective, He saw that "it was good." We simply exist. But when we live for God and His purposes, we can become beautiful. Death is. Birth is. Life is. It's all a part of existence. If our perspective dictates that one of these is ugly, we can't simply cut it out of existence. We all experience death. We all experience birth (at least in some form, even if it's simply that we were born at one point). We all live life in some capacity. The thing that we can control and change, is our perspective. Do I look at the world and existence through the lens of pain, sin and simple worldliness? Or do I look at the world through the lens of Christ and what He has done for us on the cross; through the lens of His love for me and the world He has created?

The beauty of existence can only come from God. It's a part of who He is. Pure beauty can be defined by God. Once we pass the threshold of death, push through the ugliness that comes from various aspects of our existence, we can see the full beauty of heaven and the grace, love and peace that God has planned for us.

Death. Birth. Life. They can be ugly things. But when looked at from the right perspective, we can get a glimpse of the beauty of God.

Kids these days...

I was cleaning up in the children's area at church the other day, and found the following note inscribed on the dry-erase wall: 

Dear Zoe, How are you doing im in first grade and i just farted My teacher never goes to the bathroom and she acts so cool But shes not My whole class is my friend's some are and some ar'nt and i just farted again the boys think im stupid i think they are but i just tease them so school is fun to me but picture day is better the best part is lunch your friend Carly

It's always fun to be reminded that there is a time of life when we don't necessarily care about correct "social protocol" or how we are perceived by others. Sometimes it's just good to know that farting is just as much a part of life as school or teasing the boys in class.

I'm pumped to be a dad. It's exciting to now be an essential part of someone's development. But probably more than that, I'm looking forward to all the goofy and unexpected comments or actions that will take place in the Locke household over the next couple of decades or so. Life is cool.

Priorities

I suffer from a lack of perspective. I suspect I'm not the only American, or Christian who does so.

I like Conan O'Brien. He's funny, puts on a good show, and NBC looks like they're going to force him out. Now, I'm not a big TV watcher, and I realize that this is just a surface-level, entertainment thing. It's really not a huge deal in the grand scheme of things. But it has never-the-less captured my attention, so I've been following the story.

So this morning, I jumped on the interwebs and looked for the next act in this unfolding drama. I posted the "Coco" picture on my facebook profile and joined his fan group. And it wasn't until just a few minutes ago that I stumbled across a link about something happening in Haiti.

Because I was overly concerned with where Conan might end up in a few months I missed that there was a massive 7.0 earthquake that hit Haiti early this morning. Had I been paying attention, I would have seen all of the news and links pointing towards the devastation and heartache that has occurred there over the last 24 hours or so.







Parts of the new computer I'm building came in the mail and were waiting for me when I got into work this morning. I was super excited and opened all the boxes to look at everything, even though I don't have all the stuff and so I can't put anything together until tomorrow or so. I sit here and look at the new computer case I bought and I'm ashamed to think that as I'm excited for this new toy, there are thousands of people whose lives have been completely destroyed and they don't have a home to go back to, much less a computer  from which they could send an email to a loved one letting them know that they're still alive. In the minutes that it took me to open the packaging, hundreds of people died under rubble, because there weren't enough unharmed people to dig through the wreckage to find them.

It happens throughout the world, everyday. I sit in my air-conditioned/heated office, very comfortable in my desk chair, drink a Dr. Pepper and people in other parts of the world die from hunger or dehydration or disease or exposure to the elements.

Is it wrong of me to live the way I do when so much of the world is hurting? Is it hypocritical, to sit here and write my little blog that no one will read and at the same time think about how I'd really like some brownies right now?

I don't know. I do know that God places us in certain situations for specific purposes. I know that I'm here working at Broadway Christian Church because He has called me here. I know that I lose focus very easily on what He has told us in His word is important and right. My heart goes out to the people of Haiti.I will pray that God will protect those who need His protection and comfort those who need His comfort. But here's where I get all twisted up in my brain and I get all befuddled. What do I do? As a follower of Christ, what is my response to what happened in Haiti? Earthquakes happen all the time. Death and destruction happens all the time. We know this; it's the result of a fallen and sinful world. Is it my responsibility to give money, aid, or whatever ever time I come across something like this?

God has told us: "Then Jesus came to them. He said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. So you must go and make disciples of all nations. Baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. And you can be sure that I am always with you, to the very end." 


Our job as followers of Christ isn't simply to show compassion on people. It isn't to give lots of money, or even rebuild all kinds of houses and communities. Our job, the task that was given to us when Jesus left the earth to prepare us a home in heaven, is to bring as many people into His family as we possibly can. It isn't about humanitarian deeds we do. It isn't about government policies we stand up in protest against. It isn't even how many people come through the doors of our church buildings. It's about living our lives in such a way that the people who we come in contact with will see the light of Christ in our lives and choose to live for Him in turn.

I suffer from a lack of perspective. God has blessed me richly beyond anything I could imagine. And I get so focused on the blessings I've been given, I miss opportunities to serve the Great Master.

Lord, give me eyes to see your mission field. Help me to see the opportunities You place before me to shine Your light. Through all the hurting and destruction of this world, give me the courage and discipline to teach others about You wherever I am, wherever I go. Teach me to love as You have me. Teach me to live as You would have me live. Teach me to sacrifice as You have sacrificed for me. 

http://video.nytimes.com/video/2010/01/13/world/americas/1247466526751/massive-earthquake-hits-haiti.html