Sunday, May 21, 2006

Beauty

Beauty.m4a
Powered by Castpost
(It can be opened with Quicktime)

It isn’t a very masculine word, but it fits. It is lovely today.

The sunlight on the trees, is lovely. There are hundreds, thousands, of types of green. There are verdurous mosses, darker ferns, rich trillium. The nearby meadow shimmers a waving yellow-green, the blackberries are reaching across paths with their own spectrum of hues. I see aspens shaking their leaves in the light breeze, shimmering an emerald song of life, of spring. Majestic douglas firs stand nearly motionless with their deep verdant psalm of praise. This is Oregon and the word “green” is too brief, too simple to express what I see. The forest marches away into the distance, the hills are clad in trees, turning bluish green with each successive wave that climbs and falls as they march toward Mount Hood. Even the base of that beautiful mountain, forty miles away, wades through a distant blue green which peers from below the cloak of winter snows.

A few white clouds are sauntering across the afternoon sky. Not large, grand thunderheads. Simple wisps of cotton, dreamily sliding against a cerulean canvas.

It is so lovely; it makes me tremble.

I am rather scientific by nature. I like things measured, proven, well-considered. I ground my thinking on firm foundations of rational evidence. But there is something about faith which defies measurement, testing, debate. This up-welling of my spirit shouts of a creator, offering proof that brooks no debate.

Do you wish to argue the existence of God, of a creator? I’m sorry, I have no eloquent words to give you. But there is proof.

There is a deep, intrinsic beauty to the world (when I turn my eyes away from the sorrows born of Man). There is a loveliness that cannot be explained twofold.

First, I cannot explain why I feel it. Why does my heart leap at such things? Why do I feel a twisting, beating, shouting, singing joy within my heart? What part of who I am is responding to this? What do I have within me that makes me feel this way, and what evolutionary benefit could it possible have? For this joy does not make me more likely to pass on my genes. I experience joy at the beauty of the world, and there isn’t any scientific reason for it.

Secondly, I cannot explain why it is here. We must concede the point that beauty exists, even if we are at a loss to define it. We can point to what is beautiful and what is not. But why is it here? What function does beauty serve?

When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? --Psalm 8:3-4

Beauty exists for a very simple reason: Yahweh. God does not make unlovely things.

That rising passion I feel within my heart is the recognition my soul has for seeing the craftsmanship of my Lord, my master.

May all things praise the Lord God Almighty.

He is a wondrous God. For He has provided all I need. He gives me food, shelter, love, life...

...and beauty.



25 comments:

Ame said...

Ahhhh . . . you've touched a chord that resonates deep within my soul and every fiber of my being! I remember flying once, many years ago, looking out at the unfathomable beauty and realizing that few would see what I saw. Then I thought of all the Beauty that God created that NO man will ever see! The hidden places in the universe, on the planet, in the deepest depths of the oceans . . . and I realized . . . God created Beauty for Him because He IS Beauty and because He LOVES Beauty!!!!! Totally transformed my life that day :)

Corry said...

Seeing all that beauty and being surrounded by it, always humbles me and reminds me how small I am and yet, God knows me and loves me!
That in itself is beautiful:-)

God's Grace.

Curious Servant said...

Any thoughts regarding the podcasting?

Ame said...

I haven't been able to get it to work ... but I'm not a good example ... don't have much time to figure it out ...

Anonymous said...

our God is truly wonderful... full of beauty for who He really is.

Anonymous said...

You spoke right to my heart on this one! God's amazing creation has been one of His many tools that have brought comfort since my husband died in 9/11. In fact, I'm supposed to be getting away today for two days, alone, to allow His beauty to do some healing work. I'll probably chicken out though, since I haven't left my kids since that day.
We share a lot of blogs, I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get to your comment section!
God bless your day!

Lillee said...

I love the name Yaweh

Coco said...

Amen.
I give thanks to the Lord, my God, for all he has given me.
I give thanks to the Lord, my God, for every precious moment I am able to spend with my mother.
I give thanks to the Lord, my God, for the teachings, values, and morals that my parents have given me...it was through my parents' love for God that I, too, met God.

Blessings.

ps
podcast?! castpost?!
sorry...
don't really know what they are,
nor if i'm able to receive/download- or "what".

Curious Servant said...

Hi Coco!

A podcast is a audio file available for download. Castpost is a free service for providing space for audio and video files.

The file entitled "beauty.m4a" is a newer type of compact audio file, though it appears many do not have the software to open it yet.

The file is simply my reading it out loud, which provides a bit more of an idea of how I intended the post to be.

I may have to change the format to make it easier for others to download.

But if you have a Quicktime player on your computer you should be able to download the file to your computer and then open it with that.

Anonymous said...

That is absolutely a beautiful piece of writing and sentiment. Thank you, W, for this. I hope you don't mind if I copy it and send it to my atheist father?...
Wow.
Totally.

Jada's Gigi said...

What a beautiful Lord we have! Every inch of His creation such an expression of His Son....I think it must be God Himself inside of us bursting forth as we view His creation, that makes us want to shout for joy at the sheer beauty of it all...some days it feels as though I could burst...and it seems that the more in touch I am with Him...the more joy I feel at His creation...nothing is ordinary in Christ.

PS loved the pics of your family...you all seem to be doing well.

jel said...

Hi CS,

I have tryed to open the file but can't sorry!



hope all is good with ya!

take care

Anonymous said...

thankyou for all the interesting information regarding my post regarding the whole synching up thing! I have no need or desire to delete it, since I think many a man needs the example of a man unafraid to venture into the enemy camp of the female cycle!
Good stuff!

Curious Servant said...

Uh...

Errrr...

That is...

You're welcome.

Suzanne said...

Thank you for putting in words so much of what I feel as I ponder nature on a walk, when I think of the ocean, the mountains...a beautiful rose. It takes my breath away and we are all His children and we feel it together and its okay because this we want to share!

jollybeggar said...

"I am rather scientific by nature. I like things measured, proven, well-considered. I ground my thinking on firm foundations of rational evidence. But there is something about faith which defies measurement, testing, debate."

love this. the fact that you are a scientist and a painter sings of God's refusal to be placed into a simple and pragmatic box. he is a God of diversity, and his handiwork is part of his revelation.

shalom

Vicki said...

Amen. Your words move me. Coming back for the podcast this evening. Hope you'll get some writings published.

jollybeggar said...

hey dude
i would really appreciate it if you would join me in prayer for my friend anita who undergoes a sextuple bipass today- her heart will be stopped for over two hours.

she is 39 and was planning on embarking upon some missions adventures this summer until God alerted her to a heart condition of which she was unaware. she was out jogging one day about a month or so ago and just passed out... tests followed and here we are.

intercessions touch the heart of God... please join me in lifting my friend up, that God would be glorified in a successful procedure and recovery.

blessings upon you and your readership.

Curious Servant said...

Heavenly Father...

We are Your children. We know how much You love us, what You have already given for us. Pardon... we know a small part of what You have already given...

We are grateful, Lord. We are amazed at Your love for us.

We also know that You hear our cries, our anguish, our worries and concerns.

We have a sister Lord, a child of Yours, who needs Your touch.

Please draw close to Anita, Lord. She is in mortal danger.

I know Lord... there really isn't any danger in being mortal, for we are a part of You, a part of eternity.

Yet there are things we must do here. Tasks we wish to accomplish for Your glory.

And we are mayflies Lord. We are accustomed to this life and cling to it with a passion You gave to us.

So please bless our sister Anita. Touch her body. Comfort her family. Provide wisdom and endurance and strength and compassion to her doctors and nurses. Bring Your spirit to this situation, Lord.

Amen.

see-through faith said...

beauty inside sneaking out too.

I had a fab day yesterday in Ottawa. God was everywhere.

be blessed

see-through faith said...

Lord we ask for Your hand on Anita's heart. May the surgery be successful and may she go forth praising you to the ends of the earth.

jollybeggar said...

thank you for lifting anita up...

turned out that, when they got in there, they discovered 7 blocks, not the originally diagnosed 6! this girl was a walking (or in many cases, jogging- she is a marathoner) timebomb. if you have seen the strange film 'killbillII' you will understand the allusion to it- her steps were literally numbered.

procedures went well, the hand of God moved and his mercy shone once again for the world to either take note of or ignore. when i visited her and her husband in recovery last evening, the medical staff was remarking on how powerfully well her body was already responding.

at last, a story with a happy ending. God is good- as are his people. bless you for accepting this intercessory opportunity and thus participating in a miracle.

shalom

Fred said...

Great post for this Sunday.

Mark D said...

Nature takes me straight to the awareness of the presence of God. I so appreciate the beauty of His creation!

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