A Flourishing Faith

There are plenty of doomsday messages out there to make a believing person feel nervous: world-wide Christian persecution, a continued secularization of our society and its consequences, the drama of an unfolding presidential election.  How can we ensure the continued growth of the church when it seems under attack?

The early church knew the cost of following Christ—most often it was their lives.  Thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, poured their blood out on sandy floors of the arena.  For four hundred years, the Christian believer was attacked, condemned, and murdered.  Yet the faith flourished. 

That is, until Constantine.  This Roman emperor supposedly has a vision where he sees a Cross and hears the words “in this sign you will conquer.”  It all pretty much goes downhill after this.  Christianity is finally recognized and now endorsed, and the died-for faith of generations now becomes a political tool.  After the Roman Empire falls, the word of God is kept from the lay people, trapped in the language of Latin (that the people no longer speak).  With no personal copy of Scripture with which they can test and check what they are being told, the people are left in ignorance and the church becomes a bastion of corruption and tradition based on man’s ideas instead of God’s.  For a thousand years (during which time the Crusades take place), man is estranged from God.  Yes, this time is considered a religious time period, but it is a religion of separation and distance, instead of relationship and personal accountability. 

The Reformation begins, not with Martin Luther’s 95 Theses of Contention in 1517, but almost 150 years earlier with John Wycliffe’s translation of the Bible into English.  Why is this so powerful?  For the first time in a thousand years, the idea that common man could read the Bible in his own vernacular is introduced.  For this, he is called the Morningstar of the Reformation.  His final vision doesn’t really become reality until Tyndale’s translation in 1525-26, but Wycliffe’s hope was the spark that started the fire that swept all of Europe. It is impossible to communicate the huge effect that this had on the people.  No longer were they dependent on others to tell them the truths of the Bible.  Now they could it read for themselves.  In fact, a historian remarked how elderly people learned to read just so they could read the Bible.  Groups of people pooled their money together in order to purchase a Bible and their lives were changed.  

Throughout the centuries informed Christians have fought against injustice and argued for the intrinsic value of man.  Looking to Scripture as their guide, they realized that all people are precious in God’s sight.  Their Bible study affected the way they saw every aspect of life, as it should. 

In many ways, we operate like the people who didn’t have access to God’s Word.  We rely upon pastors and teachers to expound to us what the Bible teaches without doing the hard work ourselves.  Now, more than ever, the people of God need to be a Biblically literate people.  With so many issues that need to be approached in a thoughtful way, we have a responsibility to study God’s Word to understand His perspective.

On our plate right now:  how to handle the Islamic threat, same-sex marriage, transgenderism, the effects of moral relativism, gun control, the balance of freedom, and many, many things.  How can we possibly know the way to handle these things and to ensure that the Christian faith flourishes instead of flounders?  We cannot rely on the teachings of others to navigate these tumultuous seas because, no matter how much you trust someone, no one person has all the answers. 

So what is the answer? 

1)     Don’t let emotions be your guide.  No matter how much a certain idea may “feel” right, do not trust it unless there is Scriptural backing.  If you look back over your life and think of decisions you’ve made based on emotion, chances are those weren’t your best decisions. 

2)     Know your Bible.  Don’t just reference a few token verses.  You need to see the whole teaching on a topic instead of just one narrow vision.   It’s dangerous to build a theology off of one or two verses.  You have to interpret verses in the light of the other Bible passages to have a more comprehensive perspective. 

3)     Be willing to be corrected. Being open to discussion with the idea that you might have something to learn is key.  If someone can use Scripture and a good hermeneutic to demonstrate where you might be lacking, be willing to change.  The truth is none of us have perfect theology.  We are all in the process of learning and adjusting our worldviews to line up with Scripture. 

We, as Americans, are so richly blessed with a plethora of Bible study tools and resources to aid us.  Please, let us use them!  We cannot be a voice of reason and truth in this world without a solid understanding of God’s total truth.  Before you make a decision on how to handle Islamic terror, read God’s Word to understand how He would have us react keeping in mind both His mercy and His righteous judgment.  Before we speak to a homosexual or transgender with words of condemnation or approbation, let us search God’s Word for His whole counsel. 

And as we consider these important issues, let us always approach every topic and every person with respect, remembering the overwhelming value God has placed on every person (even the ones who reject Him).  Let us be characterized as those who understand the Bible and speak the truth in a way that demonstrates love.  It is in this context, and no other, that our faith will flourish.

“…but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.”1 Peter 3:15

Thirsting for More

"O God, You are my God; early will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where where is no water.  So I have looked for You in in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory."  Psalm 63:1-2
   This verse introduces a common experience for mankind.  We all feel this desire or longing for something more.  In the darkness of the night, our soul cries out for a reality that can quench the deepest longings of our heart.  We long to be known.  To have purpose.  Many in light of that the insatiable desire have turned to God to meet that need.  As the psalmist, we have gone to His sanctuary to see His power and His glory. C.S. Lewis describes his own longing in his autobiography Surprised by Joy.
   “The first is itself the memory of a memory. As I stood beside a flowering currant bush on a summer day there suddenly arose in me without warning, and as if from a depth not of years but of centuries, the memory of that earlier morning at the Old House when my brother had brought his toy garden into the nursery. It is difficult to find words strong enough for the sensation which came over me; Milton's 'enormous bliss' of Eden (giving the full, ancient meaning to 'enormous') comes somewhere near it. It was a sensation, of course, of desire; but desire for what?...Before I knew what I desired, the desire itself was gone, the whole glimpse... withdrawn, the world turned commonplace again, or only stirred by a longing for the longing that had just ceased... In a sense the central story of my life is about nothing else... The quality common to the three experiences... is that of an unsatisfied desire which is itself more desirable than any other satisfaction. I call it Joy, which is here a technical term and must be sharply distinguished both from Happiness and Pleasure. Joy (in my sense) has indeed one characteristic, and one only, in common with them; the fact that anyone who has experienced it will want it again... I doubt whether anyone who has tasted it would ever, if both were in his power, exchange it for all the pleasures in the world. But then Joy is never in our power and Pleasure often is.” 
  He saw in those moments a hint of something far greater than just instant gratification.  It was a whiff of a heavenly scent.  A desire for something bigger and grander than himself.  It was what the Bible calls the hope of eternity set in each person's heart (Ecclesiastes 3:11).  I think many of us can relate to those moments in life--perhaps it was a beautiful scene in nature that took your breath away, a book that was written with almost perfect clarity and brilliant expression, or a moment with a loved one that warmed you.  Those moments are brief, but always memorable.
   I believe these moments help prepare us for truth.  They lift up the eyes that are firmly fixed on earthly soil and help us look up to the heavens in wonder.  Where before we were distracted with the daily details of living, those divine moments make us stop and think of what's really important.
   Unfortunately, for many, that is the end of the experience.  That one moment gets our attention, but, because of its brevity, it cannot sustain it.  Soon enough, we are immersed in the basics of everyday life again.  We remember that wonderful, intense moment, but it soon becomes a fond memory and nothing else. 
   That's because that moment was an invitation--the beginning and not the end.  The goal isn't to recreate that moment, but to find the why behind the moment.  For those who make that connection, that moment doesn't need to end.  It can be the entrance to a whole new life.  
   Many of us don't know how to go from the desire to the fulfillment of that desire. That's something that isn't easily explained.  Many much wiser than I am have written books upon books on the subject.  I do think, however, that it can be very simple.  Ask. 
   If you want more of God--ask Him.  Matthew 7: 8 says, "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened." The promise is offered repeatedly throughout scripture for those who will demonstrate the persistence to keep on asking.  In Matthew Henry's commentary on this passage, he states, " Prayer is the appointed means for obtaining what we need. Pray; pray often; make a business of prayer, and be serious and earnest in it. Ask, as a beggar asks alms. Ask, as a traveller asks the way. Seek, as for a thing of value that we have lost; or as the merchantman that seeks goodly pearls. Knock, as he that desires to enter into the house knocks at the door."
Don't be satisfied with the momentary glimpses.  Keep asking for more of Him that you might truly live!
   But after asking there yet remains another step--believe He will answer you.  Hebrews 11:6 states, "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him."  This is where the important step of faith comes in (please note that the faith step is more to do with God's character than His existence).  We must believe that He wants to and can answer our prayer.  When we believe this, we realize that the weight of action has actually moved from us to Him.  We wait in hopeful anticipation.  He does everything else.
   So if we ask Him to reveal Himself to us, and we believe He will reveal Himself, we also need to open our eyes to see when He does reveal Himself.   In many books I've read, including Eldridge's Sacred Romance, it is believed that God is revealing Himself daily.  In fact He is actively romancing us--through things of beauty, through meaningful connections, through dappled rays of light.  He romances us with love.  Are we watching?  Are we responding? We don't have to wait for those big, life-changing moments to experience His presence.  We can walk every day with eyes open to see Him actively at work around us.

Lord, you know how easily we are distracted by the world around us.  There's always something to do, and when we are finally done we fall exhausted on our beds.  And then we wonder "Is this all there is?"  I pray Lord that we will first yearn for something more.  Awaken in us a desire to desire--and not just petty, small desires for immediate fulfillment.  Put in us a hope for eternity,a desire for the true reality of the world, and don't let us be satisfied with anything less.  And then we ask, God, that you would show us Your Heart.  Let us fall in love with you.  Let us wait with breathless anticipation to see how You will show up today.  We cannot do this on our own.  We need you, and we believe you want us know You.  Give us eyes to see and hears to hear You!
Amen

Law vs Freedom

   Recently I’ve been watching a TV show that grapples with the issue of law and liberty in an interesting way.  The show is called The 100 and follows a community of humans living in space after a nuclear battle has made the Earth uninhabitable.  They have made it the 100 of the 200 years needed to make the earth habitable again; however, the place they are living (called the ark) is failing, and they only have a matter of months.  So they send 100 of their under -18 convicts (crimes committed by those over 18 are punishable immediately by death) to Earth to see if they can live there when the ark fails. 

   These 100 teenagers are sent to earth and a thought-provoking contrast of government is played out.  On the ark, the law is rigid and harsh.  People hate the law and the leadership, though they mostly submit because they understand the law’s purpose is to protect the human race.  On earth, the teenagers, finding themselves with no communication with the ark, decide they want a society where they can do whatever they want (which they chant at various times).  However, they find that this kind of anarchy is unsustainable.  When a murder is committed, the teens demand “justice” but a justice that isn’t backed up with evidence.  After a tumultuous and intense series of events (and the death and banishment of two characters), the two main leaders of the group basically say they need to have laws.  There have to be consequences for actions.  They feel inept at being the ones to administer law and justice, but they see it is necessary. 

   We’ve seen this same scenario played out in real history as well.  What ends up coming to the head is the basic question:  what defines law?  Or better yet:  who defines law?  Just as they concluded in the TV show, life cannot work without law and without consequences.  But the idea of arbitrary rules given by just anyone is naturally repugnant to us.  Who really has the authority to determine what is right or wrong? 

   For many, the only solution can be the rule by majority.  Let’s have a democratic vote on it.  What is dangerous about this was discussed in my last blog and even highlighted in the TV show when the mob demanded their vigilante justice—what if what the group wants is wrong?  There must be something bigger and greater than the group to decide morality, or we will forever be in the grips of every passing emotion or idea.

   However, we learn on the show that even this isn’t enough; they do have a codified law on the ark, but its enforcement is fierce and tyrannical even.  On the ship, there seems to be no freedom.  On Earth, there seems to be too much. 

   If the law isn’t the complete answer, what is?

   This is demonstrated in the TV show in a unique way.  The fact that the ark is dying is being withheld from the community for fear of the people rioting.  However, one character finally reveals the truth to them and calls on the people to use this as an opportunity to bring out the best in humanity.  Furthermore, the character who reveals the message also explains that oxygen is running out.  For them to buy time to save all the inhabitants on the ark, about three hundred people need to die.  Leadership had planned to do this deceptively, and had picked out a group of people to die in their sleep.

   Obviously, leadership expected the people to respond to this news with anger and rioting.  What happens is surprising.  A delegate from the people steps forth.  He turns in his tags and says he volunteers to be one of the three hundred to die so that his daughter might live.  He walks out, and another person comes in and does the same.  And so on until there are even more than three hundred needed. 

   The leadership is flabbergasted.  They never expected this overwhelming response of self-sacrifice.  They are humbled and ashamed even.  We see in this one act something that transcends the rigid law they were enforcing.  Love.  Sacrifice. 

   It is in this intersection of law and love that true morality is fleshed out.  It’s not just about meeting the requirements of a relentless code of law.  It’s about giving of ourselves.  It’s about loving others. 

   It’s about living out in plain view the balance of God’s own perfect nature. 

   True freedom then becomes not the ability to do “whatever the hell we want” (as broadcasted by the rebellious teens).  It isn’t escape from the law as demonstrated on the ship.   

   Freedom instead becomes the ability and right to choose to do the right thing.  The moral thing.  And so we learn that morality isn’t the restriction that many fear it is.  It is the freedom to become better people.  It is the freedom to learn what love really means. 

   Although we live in a culture that simultaneously believes that we need more laws and less moral constraints, we can look to Scripture to understand the true nature of things.   “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.”  (Galatians 5:13) 

The Irrationality of the Mob

   In a famous scene from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, Antony has stirred the crowd up to a frenzy against the conspirators who assassinated Caesar.  In their rampage, the crowd (or mob at this point) comes across Cinna the Poet who unfortunately shares the name of one of the conspirators.  Read the following scene:

     Third Citizen Your name, sir, truly.  
     CINNA THE POET Truly, my name is Cinna.   
     First Citizen Tear him to pieces; he's a conspirator.  
     CINNA THE POET I am Cinna the poet, I am Cinna the poet. 29  
     Fourth Citizen Tear him for his bad verses, tear him for his bad verses.
     CINNA THE POET I am not Cinna the conspirator.  
     Fourth Citizen It is no matter, his name's Cinna; pluck but his  
                         name out of his heart, and turn him going. 34  
     Third Citizen Tear him, tear him! Come, brands ho! fire-brands:  
                         to Brutus', to Cassius'; burn all: some to Decius'
                         house, and some to Casca's; some to Ligarius': away, go!  (lines 26-37)

   The chilling lines from the fourth citizen captures the evil of the mob mentality.  When they realize that Cinna is not in fact Cinna the conspirator, the citizen calmly says, "It is no matter, his name is Cinna."  In this scene, truth is irrelevant, only the satisfaction of the emotionalism of the mob.  They want revenge, and anyone will do.  We see a similar scene played out in the pages of Scripture as Paul shared the Gospel.

   

 “Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, ‘This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.’  And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women.  But the Jews[a] were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd.”  Acts 17: 1-5 ESV [bold and italics mine]

However, things are different when they get to Berea.
 

“The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue.  Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. Many of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men. But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was proclaimed by Paul at Berea also, they came there too, agitating and stirring up the crowds. Then the brothers immediately sent Paul off on his way to the sea, but Silas and Timothy remained there.” Acts 17:10-14 ESV

   What happened in Berea that was so extraordinary?  We see two distinct ways of identifying truth. Many Jews when they heard Paul’s message responded in predictable ways particularly those in Thessalonica:

1. They got offended
2. They sought to shut him up at all costs
3. They often involved large groups of people (many who didn’t even know what the real issue was) to create a big scene

   The Berean Jews responded in a completely different way.  Let’s look to the text to see how they were described.  First, they were described as nobler than those in Thessalonica (those who set the city in an uproar and attacked the house of an innocent).  Why?

1. They received the word with eagerness
2. They examined the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so
3. They believed based on the evidence presented them

   Their response demonstrates a high view of truth, of Scripture.  Instead of responding emotionally and subsequently working everyone up to a frenzy, they went to the Scripture “to see if these things were so.”  They didn’t react prematurely, but they allowed God’s Word to speak to them, even though this truth would have changed the very fabric of Jewish life.  The truth is they valued God’s Word over their own comfort, their own traditions.

    Do we see anything similar in our own lives?  Our country right now is like the first set of Jews.  We see or hear something that offends us, and instead of seeking out the truth of the matter, we react emotionally.  Christians, apparently, aren’t any better.  Because of this, I believe that one of the greatest dangers to our faith isn’t a different worldview such as secularism; the real danger is emotionalism coupled with biblical illiteracy. 

   God wants us to think things through.  When we encounter a situation as serious as the refugee crisis, we cannot just react emotionally.  We must search the Scriptures (and more than just one) to find an answer.  When someone says or does something that offends us as believers, we cannot react in the mob mentality.  We must search for the truth of the matter.  We must see through the lens of Scripture how God wants us to respond to a situation. 

   Our emotions are not a trustworthy guide.  Instead, “…test everything; hold fast what is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21).  The rule is that we must first test it then hold fast.  My prayer for us is that of Paul’s:

“Father, may their love grow more and more in wisdom and insight—so they will be able to examine and determine the best from everything else. And on the day of the Anointed One, the day of His judgment, let them stand pure and blameless, filled with the fruit of righteousness that ripens through Jesus the Anointed.  Phil 1: 9-11 ESV [bold and italics mine]

Be Courageous

   I’m not going to lie.  Every time I turn on the news and I hear about what is going on in the world, I get scared.  Paris attacks.  A pastor’s wife murdered in Indiana.  Planes diverted.  School shootings.  Missing children.  The refugee crisis.  The list could go on.  And, not only that, we see the war of ideologies.  We see the Christian faith marginalized, attacked, and refuted while other worldviews are encouraged without being analyzed or verified.

   In fact, there are Christians who have said, “I give up.  This world is too much.  I’m just going to get away.”  They may go “off the grid” and begin prepping, or, less isolationist, they might just turn off the news, avoid non-believers, and live in a simple world with little to no interaction with the rest of mankind.

   I can understand.  It seems pointless, hopeless even.  And perhaps there is a point when we just hunker down and wait for Jesus’s return.  But I can’t imagine that time is here yet. Why?  Because it isn’t that bad yet. 

   You might think I’m ridiculous to say that, but I’d like us to look at Scripture as our litmus test.

   

   Moses, on his own, faced the leader of the most powerful on Earth at this time who had enslaved a people who rejected him.

   Joshua, on his own, had to lead an untrained people in to the land of promise filling the shoes of Moses (who wouldn’t be intimidated by that???).

   Daniel, on his own, spoke truth to a pagan nation that had exiled him and his people refusing to bow down to their idols.

   Esther, on her own, faced an entire nation bent on destroying all of her people by defying a system that hated women. 

   John the Baptist, on his own, challenged a majority of religious hypocrites.

12 disciples stood firm on their eyewitness accounts in front of an unbelieving world that killed them.

   Paul was sent out to a pagan world that had no knowledge or understanding of Jesus or the Old Testament that prophesied Him and planted churches.

And these people changed the world. 

   Yes, they suffered.  They hurt.  They were afraid.  Some even died in the pursuit.  But they boldly went forward.  Why?  Because they knew they weren’t alone.  They weren’t really being asked to do all these things on their own strength. 

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9 [bold mine]

   Our confidence is not in any ability that we might have in ourselves.  Our confidence comes solely from our reliance on Him.  We will have trouble.  It’s going to be hard.  But we are not alone.  And we can have confidence that God is still working in this world, no matter how chaotic it might seem.

“I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord!”  Psalm 27:13-14

   All we need are eyes to see and ears to hear where God is moving and then, the big step, we need to join Him.  We don’t have to be afraid of the future because God is with us now, and He will be there too.  And, in God’s perfect timing, I read in today’s Jesus Calling devotional the following encouraging words:

Leave outcomes up to me.  Follow Me wherever I lead, without worrying about how it will all turn out.  Think of your life as an adventure, with Me as your Guide and Companion.  Live in the now, concentrating on staying in step with Me.  When our path leads to a cliff, be willing to climb it with My help….You already know the ultimate destination of your journey:  your entrance of your journey.  So keep your focus on the path just before you, leaving outcomes up to Me.

Being Zealous

   I remember when I first became a Christian I would read the Old Testament and be a little shocked.  It was so violent.  There are stories of those punished with their lives for disobeying the law such as Achin who was stoned to death in the Valley of Achor (Joshua 7: 24 and 26) for stealing some of the plunder and hiding it.   

   Many Christians look to these stories as a model for how we should handle sinful behavior.  However, this is only partially true.  The Old Testament is indeed an example for us and a concrete story from which we learn.  The problem is we are learning the wrong story.  We are not looking at a picture of how the church should interact with one another and with unbelievers in regards to behavior.  We are instead seeing an external reaction to the horror of sin.  The reason the Jews acted physically to sin is because they were demonstrating the absolute purity of God to a world who had no clue what purity was.  Because God’s holiness was displayed to the world in the visible image of the tabernacle and temple and the nation of Israel, they guarded this with intense zeal. 

   For us, the situation has changed—what was previously exhibited externally in the form of a nation and temple, we now demonstrate internally.  In other words, we don’t (or shouldn’t) have an outside temple or location or even country to represent God. Why? Because we are the temple.  We, individually and corporately as the body of Christ, are now charged with the responsibility of making visible the invisible image of the Father.

   What does this look like now?  We as the protectors of God’s image still passionately seek out and punish sin.   Yet the sin we are looking to punish is not outside of us—it is not in our world, and really not even in our church (though there is certainly times for discipline)—our main focus MUST be our own sin.  Because we are now the temple of God, because He resides in us personally, because we are His and the world is looking, we have to seek out in our own selves those ideas and actions that contradict Scripture with the same ruthlessness that the Jewish people exhibited towards sin in the camp. 

   Jesus has set the example for us because He is the first to be the image of the invisible (Colossians 1:15-18).  He is our model always.  He also outlines clearly the importance of this pursuit in the Sermon of the Mount.  Consistently in the gospel, Jesus sets forth the common understanding of a law, and then raises the bar.  You have heard it said that adultery is sin….I tell you that even looking at a woman with lust is sin (Matthew 5:27, paraphrase mine).  He even goes on to say that if you right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out (Matthew 5:29, paraphrase mine)!

    Why so strict?  Because what is at stake is everyone.  The whole world.  Every precious soul.  Because if the world looks at you as the image of God and you are hateful, exclusive, and angry then they will reject the God you are displaying.  Because if you are sneaky, deceptive and a liar then they will reject the God you are displaying.  Because if you are selfish, manipulative, and self-serving then they will reject the God you are displaying. 

   No pressure, folks.

   Before you feel scared about the pressure that is on us, remember what God has done.  He has put His very self in you.  The Holy Spirit resides in you leading you (John 16:13), teaching you (John 14:26), and empowering you (Romans 8:11).  You cannot do this alone, but you must do it.  I must do it.  The stakes are too high. 

   That’s why we need Him.  We need Him every hour.  Seriously, we need Him every second.  Let us live every moment in dependence on Him because the whole world depends upon it.  

The Pain of Beauty

“It's so beautiful that it hurts me,' said Anne softly. 'Perfect things like that always did hurt me — I remember I called it "the queer ache" when I was a child. What is the reason that pain like this seems inseparable from perfection? Is it the pain of finality — when we realize that there can be nothing beyond but retrogression?'

'Perhaps,' said Owen dreamily, 'it is the prisoned infinite in us calling out to its kindred infinite as expressed in that visible perfection.”

― L.M. Montgomery, Anne's House of Dreams

   I’ll never forget reading the above quote in Montgomery’s book Anne’s House of Dreams, fifth in the Anne of Green Gables series.  The two characters are contemplating a beautiful sunset when Anne remarks that looking at really beautiful things hurt.  I remember this so clearly because I never knew anyone else had felt that way.  I thought it was some weird emotion in me that finds exquisite beauty painful.  Owen, the other character, expresses in words an idea that I had never before contemplated.  Perhaps our longing for beauty, for perfection, is in reality our own longing for God.  The part inside of us that was made for eternity yearns to meet with that visual expression of God’s perfection. 

   When I thought about that, it made sense then why we are all so drawn to beautiful things, to beautiful people.  The rightness, the sense of things fitting together speaks of God’s own wholeness.  And our so obvious brokenness cannot help but draw us towards that which is not broken. 

In our world, we can see the fruit of that longing.  We see it in amazing creations—impressive buildings, complicated works of art, sleek graphic designs, and, of course, in the pages of magazines.  The standard for beauty is high—so high, it’s impossible.  It’s not surprising that we would take one of God’s attributes and turn it into an idol. 

   Believers have responded to the allure of beauty in different ways.  The typical stereotype of conservative Christians portrays them rejecting beauty altogether.  We may envision the long-haired, dress-clad ladies with no makeup and garner the idea that unattractiveness is holy.  In our fear of beauty and its power over mankind, we have discouraged a focus on the external.  Young Christians chant the mantra, “It’s what’s on the inside that matters.” 

   Unfortunately, we cannot divorce the external from the internal.  Despite what gnostics tried to teach, the physical is not disdained by God.  A look at creation and its extravagant beauty shows us that the Earth still retains its splendor even while displaying the scars of fallenness. 

   What does this mean to believers?  It means we have to develop a healthy balance.  The desire for beauty will always be with us, and it makes no sense to pretend it doesn’t.  It does not need to be condemned, and it does not need to be given free license.  Instead, like all gifts from God, it needs to be tempered with love. 

   In our search for perfection either in our physical selves, our homes, or our work, we have to understand what the end result could be.  Anything too perfect creates a response in us that is hard to control.  We are moved to worship.  Time and time again, we’ve seen what happens when we encounter truly lovely things:  whatever it is becomes unreachable, a distance is created, an altar erected.  Either we will worship the God who created this, or we will worship the created.  On this side of heaven, perfection should only be a sign, but it is often a stumbling block.  We cannot ignore beauty or try to diminish it in order to hinder its worship effect—we can only gird it with humility. 

We can remind ourselves that beauty isn’t the end.  All the symmetry and balance of beauty (which is what it really is, isn’t it?) isn’t in itself valuable.  It is only valuable as much as it points to the One who is perfect in every way.  This mindset keeps us from becoming prideful. 

   This means that when we strive for a beautiful home with everything in its place, we realize the purpose isn’t to make others think we are amazing decorators, but to create a space of beauty where people can relax and hopefully connect with God.

   This means that when we ladies get ready in the morning and apply our makeup, the goal isn’t to communicate “Look at me!  I’m amazing!”  or even “Don’t look at me!  I’m hideous!”  We clothe ourselves in beauty to the best of our ability knowing that we are presenting an entire package. 1 Peter 3:3-4 says, “Do not let your adornment be merely [italics mine] outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel— rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.”  There isn’t a problem with making ourselves attractive, but we need to add to that a beauty of character that connects the internal with the external.

   There will always be a tension in the Christian world between the internal and external.  Between beauty and idolatry.  Between creation and the Creator.  While we are here on Earth, our responsibility as God-followers is to help bridge that gap as we rightly connect internal and external, beauty and humility, and the worship of the Creator instead of the creation.