beauty

I guess I'm feeling "posty" today. No, not postal... no need to duck under the desk. ;-)

Kim lent me a wonderful book in which I'm finally getting to indulge. I mentioned it a little while ago, it's "Captivating" by John and Stasi Eldredge. I am a big fan of John's books so I was eager to get my hands on this one, and I'm finding that I like Stasi's writing style even better. When I first read the "Sacred Romance," I had to put it down because I couldn't deal with the "sappiness" and I was suspicious of his theology. I wanted to believe what he was saying but could't bring myself to do so. With all his talk about the importance of listening to our heart, Jeremiah 17:9 always popped into my head - "The heart is more deceitful than all else /And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?" I couldn't reconcile these viewpoints, but eventually saw how they are both true as our heart is the wellspring of life yet tainted by the sickness of sin.

Anyhow, back to "Captivating." What a treat to hear someone, especially a Christian, say just how important beauty is... essential... and give a reason for it! Beauty is an extremely important part of who God is, of His character... just look at His creation. The book also talks about how we neglect beauty for the sake of efficiency. It reminds me of when we were in Boston, helping to clean a beautiful old church that the Baptists had just acquired. It was a historical building, a real architectural treasure, and had a gorgeous original Tiffany stained glass window in the sanctuary. Justin and I were admiring it to one of the associational directors, who said, "Do you know how much that thing is worth? We need to rip it out and sell it. We could build a whole church for that kind of money." The two of us just about yelled "Over my dead body!" in unison. Why is it that so many Christians see beauty as trivial, as nonessential? Can you imagine a God who was without beauty... just an efficient machine?

I am really looking forward to finishing this book!