Sermon Tone Analysis
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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
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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
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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
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