Mary Oliver once said, “Paying attention is the beginning of devotion.”upstream, 8). But we often have a hard time focusing on “the things of the Spirit” and “on things above, where Christ is” (Romans 8:5-6, Colossians 3:1-2). it might be?
We know that a heart that is attentive to the Spirit is “life and peace,” but we blush when we admit how often we reach for the empty stimulation of social media and news feeds. And it’s easy to wring our hands and declare that we’re uniquely handicapped by an age of distraction and constant competition for attention. But are we really doomed to a defenseless, distracted, constantly scrolling mind?
In my own battle against distraction, I find hope and help in the saints who lived centuries before the digital age. Slowly read the following words of Augustine about the “beautiful bridegroom everywhere.”
At that time, he was beautiful in heaven and beautiful on earth. He was beautiful in the womb and beautiful in the arms of his parents. He was beautiful when he performed miracles, he was beautiful under disaster, he was beautiful when he called us to life, but he was also beautiful in the way he did not shrink from death, he was beautiful in the way he laid down his life, he was beautiful in the way he gave life again. The way she stood up was beautiful, and she was beautiful on the cross. Beautiful in the grave, beautiful in heaven. (Essential commentary on the Psalms131)
If we had a time machine and could transport this man, captivated by the beauty of his beloved, into the digital age, would the wild horses of iPhones and earphones draw his attention away from God? Never. Not. The way Augustine speaks of Christ convinces me that He could not have done that. do not have Be captivated by the beauty of God. He remained steadfast and undistracted by his passion for the same thing that captivated David.
I have made a request to the Lord.
That’s what I ask:
to live in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
To look at the beauty of the Lord. (Psalm 27:4)
Jonathan Edwards, another undistracted saint, found God not only beautiful, but also “the foundation and fountain of…” . . All beauty” (the work, 8:551). In his sermon on “The Lordship of God,” he told the congregation:
God is in every sense transcendently more lovable than the most perfect and lovable of our fellow creatures. If men take great joy and delight in beholding and enjoying the perfection and beauty of their fellow mortals, with what ecstasy and sweet delight they behold the sweet glory and beauty of the blessed God. You will enjoy it. (the work10:429)
Like Augustine, Edwards was captivated by the beauty of God in Christ and would never trade those “sweet glory and beauty of blessed God” for an empty tank of clickbait. The question is, will they? Are we ordinary saints living in an age of distraction so captivated by the beauty of God that we become less and less distracted?
the beauty of all things beautiful
Before we answer, we need to clarify what we mean by God’s “beauty.” Philosophers like to ponder ideas such as: beauty. When they meditate on what is truly beautiful, they (perhaps unknowingly) catch a glimpse of the beautiful God.
beauty is good thingsAnd God is the best (Psalm 119:68). Beauty arouses joy and desire, and God is our joy and the desire of our hearts (Psalm 37:4). Beauty indicates perfection, and our heavenly Father is perfect (Matthew 5:48). Beauty shines with splendor and splendor, and Christ is the brightness of our God clothed in splendor (Psalm 104:1, Hebrews 1:3).
Beauty resonates in harmony and unity, and the unity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is eternal and perfect harmony. Beauty is free, just as we don’t need the dazzling colors of a sunset to mark the transition from day to night. And there is nothing more free than the love of God, who sent his Son to die for us “while we were yet sinners” (Romans 5:8). In short, beauty reminds us of God, “the beauty of all things beautiful” (Augustine, confession3.6.10).
God’s beauty is an attribute of His glory, and when we experience it, we are filled with joy and desire. He is incomparably lovely in our eyes (Psalm 89:6) and we faint when we are with him (Psalm 63). When we embrace Him, it is His beauty that fills us “full of joy and glory indescribable” (1 Peter 1:8).
Who can see such beauty?
Not everyone appreciates the beauty of God. Some “haters of God” have “exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images” (Romans 1:23, 30). That’s why Samuel Parson says there is an aesthetic element to salvation. When the Holy Spirit regenerates us, He enables us to “see the beauty of the Trinity mediated by Christ.” This new ability to see the beauty of God is more than just an intellectual awareness. We are moved and drawn to his beauty because it “contains love” (charming beauty15).
John Piper, based on Ephesians 1:18 and 2 Corinthians 4:4, says that this new ability to see the beauty of God is a function of the eyes of our hearts, or It is made clear that it is based on “spiritual eyes.”See and enjoy Jesus Christ, 9–10). And just like any other gift or ability we receive from the Holy Spirit, we need to “fan the gifts of God into the flames” (2 Timothy 1:6). Our spiritual eyes must be sanctified, matured, developed, adjusted, and adjusted until we see Christ irresistibly beautiful wherever we look. Therefore, cultivating the ability to “see and enjoy” the beauty of God in Christ becomes a means of grace in the war for our attention.
How to develop eyes to see God
This power of the new mind is aesthetic, so we can learn a thing or two about paying attention to divine beauty from those who teach art appreciation. Museum workers and artists may train us in slow viewing and immersive attention, and when we reapply those skills to meditation on God’s Word, we discover the beauty of the Lord. It may help sharpen your perspective on beauty.
But God is not a picture or a statue.they are both beautiful and Personal; His beauty moves us beyond gratitude and admiration to love and devotion. As Georgia O’Keeffe said, “It takes time to see, just as it takes time to have friends.” We must connect the aesthetic with the personal.
So when I suggest that one of the best ways to increase your appreciation of God’s beauty is to: read theology, you may be doing a double take soon. But when you stop scratching your head (and before you stop reading), listen to C.S. Lewis.
Personally, I tend to find doctrinal books more helpful in my devotions than devotional books, and I suspect that many others have the same experience. Many people who feel that “nothing happens” when they sit or kneel while reading a devotional book may find that when they are studying difficult theology with a pipe in their head, their heart sings on its own. I believe you will find that there are. Pencils in teeth and hands. (introduction Saint Athanasius in the Incarnation,Ten)
When we study the best theology, “the heart sings of its own accord.” heour beloved ones — more clearly.
Beauty recommendations
Theology at its best opens our eyes to the beauty of God in the Bible, and allows our Bible readings to be taught by the Lord, who draws back the veil so that the eyes of our hearts may behold them. It is an act of communion and love. beautiful The glory of the Lord (2 Corinthians 3:18).
But, of course, not all theological books uplift our hearts. Some are written by Dr. Dryasdust, using specialized vocabulary and paying attention to the subtle controversies that obscure our eyes. But there are theological writers, successors of Augustine and Edwards, who see the beauty of God and express it beautifully.J.I. Packers know god and RC Sprawl god’s holiness When I read it for the first time, my heart was filled with music. John Piper deliberately and faithfully follows in the footsteps of unencumbered saints like Augustine and Edwards.
And then there are the English Puritans. Although his 17th century prose sometimes tries us, they are expert guides to divine beauty. John Owen summed up the goal of all their advice and practice as follows: “Consider His glory and excellence to encourage us to give our hearts more fully to the Lord Jesus Christ.”communion with god59).
read, pray, meet
Theology is exhilarating at its best, but it is not an end in itself. It in no way replaces the direct encounter with God, which is the very subject of theology. Admiring the beauty of the Trinity in Christ is personal experience –It’s about interacting with him. So when we read theology, let us do so in the same way we read it, immersed in prayer.
Let’s learn Love In His personal revelation, our beautiful God says, “Only love makes it possible, through meditation, to satisfy the human heart with the experience of the highest happiness” (Joseph Pieper, happiness and contemplation, 82). And in that communion with God, we will be content and find the undistracted “life and peace” (Romans 8:6) that Paul calls us to. Sho. It is a daily foretaste of our eternal happiness, immersed in the beauty of Christ.
Beloved, we are now God’s children, but it is not yet clear what we will become. But we know that when He appears, we too will be like Him. Because we see Him as He is. (1 John 3:2)