For now we see in a mirror, dimly;
but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known.
Is it possible that we were each created with specific gifts that could enable others to see further into the intricacies of God? That our own artistry and creations could actually be a a download from God—a way for others to see glimpses of heaven?
I just finished reading The Great Divorce again by C.S. Lewis, and I have one word.
Wow.
What a gift he had to communicate perspective in fictitious, yet truth-filled stories that point so directly to our search for meaning in this life. In this story, people are trapped in an eternity where they can never be fulfilled—hell. They are given a chance to glimpse heaven, and yet they still have a hard time accepting that there could be far more to their life than their brief, earthly experience. They hold on to their things, their desires, and their gifts so tightly that they can’t imaging letting them go for something better...even as they catch a glimpse of the possibility of something far better.
It’s a bizarre, yet incredibly moving story (and I highly recommend reading it). Here is a short excerpt of one of the angelic beings in the story speaking to the spirit of a human character who had been given the gift of painting during his life on earth.
I just finished reading The Great Divorce again by C.S. Lewis, and I have one word.
Wow.
What a gift he had to communicate perspective in fictitious, yet truth-filled stories that point so directly to our search for meaning in this life. In this story, people are trapped in an eternity where they can never be fulfilled—hell. They are given a chance to glimpse heaven, and yet they still have a hard time accepting that there could be far more to their life than their brief, earthly experience. They hold on to their things, their desires, and their gifts so tightly that they can’t imaging letting them go for something better...even as they catch a glimpse of the possibility of something far better.
It’s a bizarre, yet incredibly moving story (and I highly recommend reading it). Here is a short excerpt of one of the angelic beings in the story speaking to the spirit of a human character who had been given the gift of painting during his life on earth.
"But I've had my look. I’ve seen just what I want to do. God!—I wish I’d thought of bringing my things with me!’
The Spirit shook his head, scattering light from his hair as he did so. "That sort of thing’s no good here," he said.
"What do you mean?" said the Ghost.
"When you painted on earth—at least in your earlier days—it was because you caught glimpses of Heaven in the earthly landscape. The success of your painting was that it enabled others to see the glimpses too. But here you are having the thing itself. It is from here that the messages came. There is no good telling us about this country, for we see it already. In fact we see it better than you do.”
Enabling others to see “glimpses of heaven.” That is what I want to spend my life doing.
That I would be so captured, stunned, floored, and amazed at the beauty of God that I can not, and will not ever turn away.
I feel the weight of this often.
As a worship leader, my deepest desire is for people to be able to catch a glimpse of Jesus in worship—to encounter the all-consuming presence of the Holy Spirit and be forever changed. I want my gifts to be used to help others see the hope and promise of heaven, not to see me. I want to let God work through me, to choose to reveal himself through this creative vessel he designed in me.
That I would be so captured, stunned, floored, and amazed at the beauty of God that I can not, and will not ever turn away.
I feel the weight of this often.
As a worship leader, my deepest desire is for people to be able to catch a glimpse of Jesus in worship—to encounter the all-consuming presence of the Holy Spirit and be forever changed. I want my gifts to be used to help others see the hope and promise of heaven, not to see me. I want to let God work through me, to choose to reveal himself through this creative vessel he designed in me.
This is why I love lifting up the name of Jesus with the people of God. There’s just nothing like it. The Holy Spirit moves past all our fears, burdens and distractions, and heads straight to our hearts. Time and time again, it’s during corporate worship that I’m faced with overwhelming emotion: deep gratitude, repentance, and reverence.
My prayer for every follower of Jesus, is that we would spend our lives chasing after beauty and glimpsing the power of the God.
May we never stop pursuing our own creative abilities, and never stop being moved by the intricate beauty that points us to the creator of it all.
May we never stop pursuing our own creative abilities, and never stop being moved by the intricate beauty that points us to the creator of it all.
Jon
jneufeld@b4church.org
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