SEEING THE BEAUTY OF CHRIST 

MERRY MONDAY BY PARRIS

“But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.…” Matt 13:15

We all do it, not catch the beauty of the moment. We spend too much of our lives looking down that we can’t see the upside of beauty. This week was Summer Saturation and I just love putting aside life and camping out all week in church meetings and worship till the cows come home. In doing so, things begin to surface inside to come up and out. By the end of the week I usually “get it sorted out” feeling like I’ve had the most amazing shower ever! All the crud of the world pale in comparison to his presence! One of those mornings in camp meeting Frank and I were able to jump on our road bikes and go for a long ride along the lakefront of New Orleans and into City Park and back. After saturating all week it felt good to get some exercise in. I loved feeling the morning breeze along the lakefront, seeing the waves lapping at the mossy steps, loved riding under the cool shade of the oaks in City Park. Everything was lush, verdant from the monsoon rains we have been having. It dawned on me that all of creation is shouting yes back to their creator.
Jesus tells us “blessed are ye that see, and your ears that hear, because the prophets of old longed to see what we see and to hear what we hear”. The beauty of Christ in us is a never ending journey into the miraculous of redemption and the mystery of his love. While in worship I began to see vast rooms of treasuries; Christ seemed to be walking with me saying “all that I have is here before you”. There were silhouettes dancing all around me in the rooms of Christ’s treasures and I realized it was people that the Lord has given for his kingdom. Yes the beauty of Christ is all around us. In the book of Revelation Chapter three, Christ says we need to be anointed with eye salve so we can see; to see the world of his beauty and his love, to see the needs of the hurting around us, to see we are but extensions of his hand.
HELEN KELLER said, “The most pathetic person in the world is someone who has sight but no vision. The seeing see very little. The panorama of color and action which fills the world is taken for granted. It is human, perhaps, to appreciate little that which we have and to long for that which we have not, but it is a great pity that in the world of light the gift of sight is used only as a mere convenience rather than as a means of adding fullness to life.”