A Master Piece

"One thing I ask of the Lord, this only do I seek, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him in His temple." Psalm 27:4

This past weekend was our second twelve hour trip to Indiana within a month. Grueling - even for a young and vibrant man like myself. But it wasn't long before Deb and I were sighing a bit as we drove through the Pennsylvania scenery. We will miss the mountains -although our new home sits on a hill. Well...our backyard slopes. But we will really miss the Turnpike and State College views that we've grown to anticipate over the last few years of our travels. 

There is nothing more breathtaking than to view the fall colors of the mountain sides and the valleys. Stunning. I'm a fall color guy by natural palate so I enjoyed the burnt oranges, reds, fading greens, and umbers. If you aren't familiar with the color "umber," its similar to ochre and sienna. (I know your laughing right now in your color palate ignorance). Paint section. Home Depot. Widen your horizon. Plus they make really great book marks. 

I'm so glad that God is not boring. I'm so glad He loves diversity. I'm glad He loves color. 

I once asked one of my students in a "Studies in Genesis" class, "Why did God create color?" (Gen. 1:30, "every green plant). It's a speculative question at best but it was designed to help us understand that God is not simply pragmatic but an artist.(Yes, I do understand chlorophyll and sunlight and photosyth...photosin...photocopying).  

He could have created things like our old 1960's television set: black, white, and shades of grey. It functioned. We could use our imagination. But the thing is, our imagination can only be based on some sense of reality (Dr. Seuss excluded). I can imaging a blue suit and brown shoes because I have seen blue and brown. God has given me a color palate to work with. He could have also created with such beauty and yet made man blind or fully color-blind. But with healthy human eyes He graces us with the beauty of this world. It is nothing more than a gift to bring us joy. It has very little, if any, practical use. You might be saying, "Well, what about stop lights?" Answer: Stop signs. And it wouldn't matter if it was red, turquoise, mauve, or...umber. It's the word, "stop" that gives it away. We would just have to be patient as we go one at a time or thankfulness for the traffic officer. 

Now, if this fallen world is filled with such beauty, how much more will heaven be? It will be the perfect place of enjoyment reflecting the beauty of the Lord. Can you imagine? Only in similes. As the Apostle John tells us in Revelation, "It's like..." And the psalm tells us that we will "gaze." Isn't that a lovely word? God is so beautiful that we can't take our eyes off of Him. Wow!

Yes, we do have trees in Indiana but the view is from below. Still pretty amazing. But nothing compares to the sites from above. I can only imagine what God sees - a Masterpiece and a piece of the Master.