The Appreciation of Grandeur

The Appreciation of Grandeur I Corinthians 1:18 Carol and I take late afternoon rides quite frequently; an hour or so before dusk, to see the countryside and to count how many deer and other critters we may see. Of course, we are always on the outlook for sighting a bear, though we have seen more of those in our yard than on our road trips. Taking in the countryside is both an exciting and quieting experience. Now summer is here and vacation time is at hand and we want to get out and about a little farther. We made reservations at a RV campground near the Thousand Islands for July and are looking forward to all the boats and scenes that are inherent of the area. Wherever you go near waterfronts, it’s always thrilling to watch the speed boats and fishing boats out on the water; even more so to be part of them. However, when you come back home you realize that, finally, whether you are on a ride or vacation, we all come back to our everyday lives, routines, joys, and problems. Coming home from such a good time away may sometimes reveal that our everyday lives may seem rather dim, depressing, aimless, with little to appreciate or be happy about. Other times we may feel refreshed, charged and raring to go. I remember a fishing trip I took to Canada some years ago with a friend of mine and Gabe. I recall there were lakes upon lakes upon lakes with little channels and coves connecting them all together. We had a little 12' boat and a 5-horse motor. As we would putz along from one fishing hole to another, sometimes miles apart, I would find myself just looking at the front of the boat, mesmerized by the sound of the motor and the splash of the waves. In the front of the boat, all I saw was a clutter, with stringers, an open tackle box, half of it running around the boat, cushions, coats, candy bars, maybe a fish of two flopping around, something of what you might call the essentials and small rewards of that livelihood in something of an organized chaos. That was my little world, the bow of the boat. In looking just in front of the boat, just ahead of my livelihood, my immediate future, if you will, all I could see were the waves and bumps ahead and the grayness of the water, my environment. After a while it can become dull and monotonous. Life can be much like motoring up the lake. All you can see are the waves that bob you up and down, the water, gray and uneventful, all passing you by rather quickly. However, I also remember, were I to look just a little to my left or right, and hold my head a little higher, what a panorama of beauty and majesty there was to behold. It was grandeur. Rocky cliffs and ledges, forests abounding with evergreen, formations of nature that 2 would astound the lowliest pessimist. One could not but be awed and appreciative of the works of art created only by the hand of God. In the most unseemly and harshest of environments, there would be life in abundance. Our lives may be as a ride in a boat, where we could see either the grayness pounding at our bow or the magnificence over our shoulder. Recently, I visited the farm for the day, and imagine, if you can, looking out the back door of the barn. There you would find an old can to sit on or a weather-beaten post to lean up against and you would, in days now gone by, behold the cows, the hay, the flies, the cobwebs in the beams, the grain bin in the corner, the sawdust for the bedding, the box stalls where the calves lay, and you would inhale all the other aromas, sights, and sounds inherent on a farm. Looking out the door a little farther, there is the unfailing satisfaction of a barnyard, a meadow, a field of corn, or a pasture whereby you might see a woodchuck, a deer, a heifer or two, or maybe the whole herd. Grandeur! Grandeur? Well, at least to me, it can be. It depends on your outlook. Hills and valleys, lakes and rocks, barnyards and hillsides have a certain serenity about them and they may serve to satisfy the most anxious heart. On the other hand, a farm might not be the most pleasant environment for some; for others, it may be a haven. The grandeur arises, however, not from the setting, as from the inherent serenity, not from the panorama, as from the persons, not from camera shots, as from the sharing, not from sight of the eyes as from insight of the heart. When in Canada, I can see grandeur from an open boat. When on the farm, I gain appreciation from a rusty old milk can, for I try to experience the moment, rather than just see the superficial surroundings. I've sat on a good many cans with a lot of people, be they family, friends, or strangers. The experience is the same with the appreciation of their lives being opened for my eyes to behold. Add to that, the unfolding of and exchange of thoughts, feelings, and sentiments and you have a moment more precious and delicate than a petal of a rose. Such an experience has a beauty and splendor of its own. Problems that can weigh heavily upon our shoulders can lighten up when experienced from the heart, rather than just taken as an entanglement or quandary. What is rich in your life to appreciate? What splendor have you seen for which to give thanks? What greatness have you witnessed that you would value highly and cherish? Is life for you more like riding in a cluttered boat, where all you see is the gray, rolling waves that pass before you and the depth of the water beneath you that may scare or frighten you? Are life’s circumstances more 3 the bilge of burden, or the abundance of beauty that can be appreciated as something positive in life? If there is little appreciation of grandeur in our lives, then are we at least able to see in someone else's life something to appreciate? Sometimes, out of someone's greater need comes greater insight into our own, which can lead us to a brighter vision of our own lives. Sometimes, however, there also comes greater dissatisfaction where we might ask, "Why do I suffer more than so and so?" "What did I do to deserve this?" Such an attitude may blind us from appreciating anything. Once we are blind and unable to see beyond ourselves, we are most miserable, for then we are deprived of seeing the grandeur of Christ and the sight of the cross. What splendor is there in the sight of the cross, that we might appreciate it? The burdens of the world, yours and mine, were and are weighed heavily on the shoulders of the Lord; and though we feel they may hang us up, they were hung on Him upon the cross. The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, foolishness to those who are blind to see beyond themselves. Their misery is verification of their own blindness. A different dimension of life can open to us, though, when we experience from the heart, reasons for thanksgiving that can be seen in the most dismal of circumstances. For to us who are being saved, it is in our weakness, that the power of God becomes present and makes us strong. It is in our sadness that we can be made glad by the ministering of God's grace in those who love us. It is in our grief that God can cause joy. For we also know, that it is in death, that God has caused the Resurrection. The appreciation of grandeur; it's a matter of outlook, a choice of vision. If on the cross, grace and beauty and the power of God can be witnessed; if looking on the sight of Jesus' death we see the most splendid magnificence of all, because it signaled a victory over sin and death coming through the Resurrection, then in our lives, we may also see in each circumstance, not only a cross but a crossing over, from a nearsightedness of life to a clear vision of God's wonders to behold, especially as we encounter each other and see how God is at work in one another's lives. However trialsome life may seem, the grace and power of God is at work to make beautiful that which may seem gray, to make smooth that which may seem rough, to lift up one who is cast down, for our God is a God of hope and joy and victory over the smallest and largest of our concerns, for our God is an awesome God. Sing with me: Our God is an awesome God, He reigns from heaven above, with wisdom, power, and love, Our God is an awesome God.