Beauty Is Outside the Eye of the Child

I went for a walk in the beautiful almost-autumn air yesterday, and I was absolutely astonished by the evening sky. Smeared across the ceiling of blue appeared whisps and smudges of the most radiant pinks and golds I have ever seen, casting an ethereal glow on everything below. The intricacy was amazing, more detailed and concise than any work of man, yet carefree and liberated in itself. It was upon stopping at the top of my street to get a good look that I was beside myself in awe. The clouds were waves, an upside-down ocean in the sky. They curled and tumbled outward, expanding to meet an undefined horizon somewhere above my head; I could almost hear the crashing, and I wished to open my arms and dive upward into the sea. Who else, I thought out loud, could have ever imagined such a scene? No fine-tipped brush in Photoshop or earthly artists' tool could ever accomplish such magnificence, or even come close. It was a work of objective beauty that held in itself a distinct song. "The heavens are telling the glory of God, and all creation is shouting for joy..." How true! How sad it is that so many can behold something like this and yet deny the existence of its Creator. The artist had crafted at whim a piece more perfect than words can describe, and each stroke proclaimed His love to the world! It was not just a simple delight for Him, it was a way for Him to communicate with us, His children. "Be still, and know that I am God," He beckoned with each shape and shade.

But we are, at times, like Helen Keller as a child. Blind, deaf, and mute to the Father's true presence, we absorb the scenery with our limited senses, only understanding a fraction of what is there. But God does not leave us. In His infinite love beyond comprehension, He grabs our hands, spelling it out and repeating His lesson: "L-o-v-e. This is what love is." But we do not make the connection, we simply sign it back and eat our cake. So often we look to the sky, nod in approval, and move on, not taking time to contemplate what the Lord has so aptly placed in front of us. The water pours forth from the pump and splashes everywhere, like the clouds from some unindentifiable vanishing point. It is there, tangible and real, but so many still do not know its name. "L-o-v-e," the Lord cries to the world, "it is who I am and why I come, it is the living water that pours forth, it has a name!" Christ has poured forth His Spirit upon the earth, and given His life so that we might know His name. He has revealed Himself through the world in which we live. How long will it be till we make the connection?

Praise the Lord from the earth, you sea monsters and all deep waters;
You lightning and hail, snow and clouds, storm winds that fulfill his command;
You mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars;
You animals wild and tame, you creatures that crawl and fly;
You kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all who govern on earth;
Young men and women too, old and young alike.
Let them all praise the Lord's name, for his name alone is exalted, majestic above earth and heaven.

-Pslam 148:7-13