These concepts connect for me:
Irenaeus said "the glory of God is
man fully alive."
In Captivating the Eldredges say we can
come to know God through beauty and a great example is nature.
Ann Voskamp connects to God through
thankfulness ,and beauty is one thing which makes her thankful.
The most important thing is God. As
C.S. Lewis pointed out "it is not the feeling of God or the idea
of God we seek, but God himself."
As Voskamp knew, seeking the perfect
photo of the beautiful moon is not the end but the means to the true
end, knowing God. I know how easy it is to settle for the created
instead of worshiping the actual Creator. Lewis showed how that goes
in The Pilgrim's Regress and Solomon aptly called it "chasing
the wind."
These concepts really gelled for me
when I read an analysis of Irenaeus' words, just to make sure
Eldredge was using it right. "Thus
the life of the Christian, in faith as in future vision, is
essentially knowing and being known."
(www.ewtn.com/library/theology/irenaeus.htm) that sounds like exactly
the point John Eldredge was trying to make. But in addition to beauty
which he names as an avenue to God, there are others.
It's interesting to pair this with the
statement that we are created to glorify God. How do we glorify Him?
By being fully alive, which is much more than the YOLO attitude.
Glorifying God is knowing Him and letting Him, getting Him to know
us. We glorify Him by developing our two-way relationship. Obviously,
and this resonates with me, we can do that by seeking the glorious
things He has created. Also, we get to know Him through His word,
through prayer and through service.
I think that's the missing ingredient
from Wellsboro Bible Church's mission statement. Yes, we live to
glorify Him through what we do with His word, how we care for His
body and serving Him. But by glorify we do not mean "make Him
look good." We mean making that relationship shine between us.
The relationship is not the means to the end. It is the
end. And we seek that end for all
people. Amen.
