spiritual beauty

2 Corinthians 4:5-6

For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

I don't normally take so long to get through books but, as of late, I have been reading way too many books at once! I think this may be the result of having been on a bit of a book-buying "fast" - after Christmas I just started reading everything at once... not a good idea. That being said, I am really enjoying this little book by John Piper called God Is The Gospel. It has had some fantastic quotes in it that I have not been able to stop thinking about. One such quote is from chapter 4. Here Piper is reflecting on the verse from 2 Corinthians when he says (sorry for it's length):

The spiritual beauty of Christ is Christ-in-action - Christ loving, and Christ touching lepers, and Christ blessing children, and healing the crippled, and raising the dead, and commanding demons, and teaching with unrivaled authority, and silencing the skeptics, and rebuking his disciples, and predicting the details of his death, and setting his face like flint toward Jerusalem, and weeping over the city, and silent before accusers, and meekly sovereign over Pilate (... John 19:11), and crucified, and praying for his enemies, and forgiving a thief, and caring for his mother while in agony, and giving up his spirit in death, and rising from the dead - ...(John 10:18). Such is the glory of Christ. (pg 66)

I have recently been struck anew by the difference between a knowledge of the "spiritual beauty" of Jesus and knowing about God. I seldom think about the beauty of God as seen in the face (or life) of Jesus. It seems so much easier to think of God's beauty as I look to His creation and His mighty works but to see it in the life of Christ seems... different. It is not that I don't see Christ's works as amazing, triumphant, powerful, transformational, revolutionary... even breath taking, I just don't often think of them as beautiful. But as I have reflected (and read Piper's reflections) on this passage as it talks about this light shining into our hearts and giving the "light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus" I begin to see the life of Christ with a different set of eyes again... the eyes of the heart (Ephesians 1:18) I guess... glory eyes.

And then I realize why Jesus is at the center of so much art, literature and creative revolutions... His life was beautiful. Horrifically, amazingly, tragically, exceptionally... beautiful.

spiritual beauty (2)