“So the Word became human and made His home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen His glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.” (John 1:14 NLT)
Over the last five days my goal has been to share delusions that people believe that either rob them of an understanding of who Jesus is or rob them of a right relationship with Him.
Today as we look at Truth, realizing Jesus is the embodiment of all that is true, we must caution those who believe they can know Jesus without an eye for the beauty His life IS and for the magnificence of what seeing life through the lens of His holiness reveals. There is no “truth” without the beauty and majesty of King Jesus shining through.
I’m reminded of Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s words: “Earth’s crammed with heaven, / And every common bush afire with God; / But only he who sees, takes off his shoes, / The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries.” Many churches today are filled with “berry-pluckers:” people who have a façade of Christianity without the beauty of the Truth of who Jesus is, what He did, and the resultant lifestyle that gives visibility to others who have yet to meet Him.
Knowing Jesus reveals beauty where none existed before. Ryan Bomberger wrote: “So I think of earth crammed with heaven. Everything that we do as Christians can be an act of worship. And design, for me, and writing, they are acts of worship….” How about greeting your neighbor with a smile and a kind word, rather than waving and saying nothing?
How many of us “common bushes,” afire with God could the Lord use to reveal His glory if we’d only get our minds off ourselves? It’s sad, but for me, and I suspect for some of you, I’m most likely to “pick berries” in my own home and among my own family. What does that mean? It means I see too much “ordinary” in my house and not enough majesty. My tendency is to see the beauty in someone else’s life before I see it in my wife or children’s lives.
Truth always displays beauty to those willing to see it. The truth is, I’ve been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, but I have to fight to see the beauty that’s already being revealed on this journey. As a rule, focus reveals what we expect to see. If we’re not looking for beauty, we’ll keep our shoes on while we’re plucking berries, rather than pausing, recognizing these are holy moments, removing our shoes and taking time to worship.
Too often in our culture we suppress the beauty that can surface in casual conversations. My infusions last about an hour, so, I take a book to read rather than watching TV or wasting the time sleeping. The first day the young Nurse Practitioner came in to get my line started and noticed my book. “What are you reading?” led to a series of questions and conversations leading to me buying her a copy of Experiencing God, for which she expressed genuine appreciation and gave me an opportunity to hear her story.
Being infilled with Truth will open our heart and mind to beauty where none seems to exist, but since we’re filled with “Beauty,” why not look for creative ways to share Him? As a child of God you are “beautiful,” not simply physically, but you’re like a mini-museum of fine art from whom people who meet you and have a conversation with you can catch a glimpse of what Truth really looks like.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 