I just watched an interview with Phillip Yancey, author and editor of Christianity Today. He described growing up in a toxic church (riddled with racism and legalism) and walking away from faith as a young man. The interviewer asked him, "What was it that brought you back?"
It wasn't the Bible. It wasn't getting into a different church. It wasn't the fear of hell or the promise of heaven. Yancey said, "There were three things. One, the beauty of creation. Two, classical music. Three, romantic love."
It was beauty that brought Yancey back to faith. He said those three things were everywhere- he felt he was surrounded by art, and because of that, he wanted to meet the artist. He said, "The worst moment in an atheist's life is being filled with a profound sense of gratitude and having no one to thank."
I agree with Yancey. His story reminded me of something I read about Reinhard Heydrich, the head of the Gestapo under Hitler in Nazi Germany. He was as cold and cruel a man as ever walked this earth- ruthless, merciless; a man with no conscience. However, he was an accomplished violinist. Nearly every night he would get out his violin and play beautifully for hours. People who watched him play noticed that he wept and wept as he played, tears running down his cheeks as he created something beautiful on the violin.
Why did this terrible human being cry as he played music? I believe it was because he was being reminded of beauty, and it tore his soul apart. Music is beautiful, and it reminds us that there is art all around us. For there to be art around us, there has to be an Artist. I believe Heydrich came face to face with that Artist every night who reminded him of how dark and terrible his soul was. I believe the tears he cried were for himself. I believe the tears were from the innermost part of his being- the image of God he was created in that had been shoved down and trampled on and its existence denied, yet still lived and shone through beauty.
Heydrich was not created to be a monster. He was created to be an artist; someone who reflected the beauty of his Creator through producing works of beauty. He shoved that purpose down into the dark recesses of his soul during the day, but at nighttime it came out in the form of music. He couldn't escape the image of God that he was created in- an image that was created to make and enjoy beauty.
It is beauty that draws me to God as well. The beauty of His creation, the beauty of music, the beauty of love, the beauty of grace and forgiveness and friendship that surrounds me every day. I would imagine that the sight of the Grand Teton mountains or the Grand Canyon has created more believers than any sermon or Bible study. Ten seconds of silence before a raging waterfall has convinced more people of God's existence than ten hours of sermons.
Open your eyes to the beauty around you. You'll find the supreme Artist everywhere you look.
Worship Night
Catalyst Christian Church, Nicholasville, KY
Monday, July 18, 2011
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Justice? The Casey Anthony Trial
Within minutes of the verdict of the Casey Anthony trial, Facebook lit up with expressions of disbelief and anger at the "not guilty" verdict. I didn't follow the trial (I followed the OJ Simpson one back in the early 90's, and it was a total dog and pony show. I figured this one would be just like it, with similar results. I hate being right in those cases).
However, one post really hit me. It was from a friend of mine that wrote, "In times like this, I really hope there is a God so this lady will feel His wrath." That got me thinking. First, be sure that she will. The problem is- everyone will. Everyone that doesn't have Jesus' death atoning for their sins. When I read that post, I thought, "That's kind of like Stalin hoping that there was a God so that Hitler would feel His wrath." Now, please don't get me wrong- I'm not saying that my friend is like Stalin, who murdered over 30 million people. I'm saying we ALL are like Stalin. The Scriptures tell us that no one is righteous- all have fallen short, all have turned away, all have sinned. Because of that, all of us will face God's wrath . . . . unless we have Jesus as our Lord and Savior.
Believe me, God's justice and wrath are real. If Casey Anthony doesn't have Jesus as Lord and Savior, be sure she will face the realness of God's wrath. So will the rest of us if WE don't have Jesus as Lord and Savior. It would be ridiculous for Stalin to hope in God's wrath to punish Hitler, because if God's wrath were real, He would punish Stalin too. That same justice that would punish Hitler would punish Stalin. In the same way, the same wrath that would punish Casey Anthony will punish us. So is it a wise thing to hope in God's wrath for someone else when God's wrath applies to us?
That's why the cross and the resurrection are so important. That's why I went into ministry and church planting when I could work about half as much and make twice or three or four times as much as I do here. I truly believe in the justice of God. I believe it in wholeheartedly, and God is not selective. He doesn't particularly care what WE think is right or proper. He doesn't play favorites and He doesn't grade on a curve. He doesn't accept what this world says is "good" (because even Adolf Hitler would define himself as "good"). He has laid down truth that shows how His justice is to be averted- by acceptance of His precious Son's death on the cross and belief in His resurrection; by allowing the sacrifice of Jesus to cleanse us from all sin so that we can truly be innocent of everything we've ever done.
It's in cases like this that the grace of God, which passes all understanding, becomes even more precious to me than it ever was. To realize that I am Casey Anthony, and Adolf Hitler, and Josef Stalin- and so are you- and that I deserve what they had coming, and that I don't get that because Jesus took it for me, still continues to stagger my mind. I never will fully comprehend how God could love someone like me- love me enough to endure the cross and take my sins away. I don't think any human can really ever understand that. All I know is the joy of what the old hymn says, "
"My sin, O the bliss of this glorious thought
My sin, not in part, but the whole
Is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more
Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord, O my soul!"
It is well, with my soul
It is well, it is well, with my soul."
However, one post really hit me. It was from a friend of mine that wrote, "In times like this, I really hope there is a God so this lady will feel His wrath." That got me thinking. First, be sure that she will. The problem is- everyone will. Everyone that doesn't have Jesus' death atoning for their sins. When I read that post, I thought, "That's kind of like Stalin hoping that there was a God so that Hitler would feel His wrath." Now, please don't get me wrong- I'm not saying that my friend is like Stalin, who murdered over 30 million people. I'm saying we ALL are like Stalin. The Scriptures tell us that no one is righteous- all have fallen short, all have turned away, all have sinned. Because of that, all of us will face God's wrath . . . . unless we have Jesus as our Lord and Savior.
Believe me, God's justice and wrath are real. If Casey Anthony doesn't have Jesus as Lord and Savior, be sure she will face the realness of God's wrath. So will the rest of us if WE don't have Jesus as Lord and Savior. It would be ridiculous for Stalin to hope in God's wrath to punish Hitler, because if God's wrath were real, He would punish Stalin too. That same justice that would punish Hitler would punish Stalin. In the same way, the same wrath that would punish Casey Anthony will punish us. So is it a wise thing to hope in God's wrath for someone else when God's wrath applies to us?
That's why the cross and the resurrection are so important. That's why I went into ministry and church planting when I could work about half as much and make twice or three or four times as much as I do here. I truly believe in the justice of God. I believe it in wholeheartedly, and God is not selective. He doesn't particularly care what WE think is right or proper. He doesn't play favorites and He doesn't grade on a curve. He doesn't accept what this world says is "good" (because even Adolf Hitler would define himself as "good"). He has laid down truth that shows how His justice is to be averted- by acceptance of His precious Son's death on the cross and belief in His resurrection; by allowing the sacrifice of Jesus to cleanse us from all sin so that we can truly be innocent of everything we've ever done.
It's in cases like this that the grace of God, which passes all understanding, becomes even more precious to me than it ever was. To realize that I am Casey Anthony, and Adolf Hitler, and Josef Stalin- and so are you- and that I deserve what they had coming, and that I don't get that because Jesus took it for me, still continues to stagger my mind. I never will fully comprehend how God could love someone like me- love me enough to endure the cross and take my sins away. I don't think any human can really ever understand that. All I know is the joy of what the old hymn says, "
"My sin, O the bliss of this glorious thought
My sin, not in part, but the whole
Is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more
Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord, O my soul!"
It is well, with my soul
It is well, it is well, with my soul."
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