True Beauty: Mark 13:1-2
The world is far more beautiful when we take the time to look past the surface and find God in the heart of life. I remember the first time I saw a waterfall. The beauty of the water cascading over the edge and hanging in midair was astounding. The sound of the water eventually hitting the lake at the bottom was deafening. The rainbow visible just above the crashing water was surprising. As breathtaking as it was, it became more beautiful later as I contemplated how God created that waterfall and it was through His hand that I could have that moment.
As they are leaving the temple, one of Jesus’ disciples draws the group’s attention to the beauty of the temple. It was made with exquisite stone engineering. It was a feat to marvel. It is good for this disciple to stop and exercise his God-given ability to see beauty around him.
Jesus redirects the disciple, though. While there wasn’t anything wrong with noticing the beauty, the disciple still missed the greater picture. The stones and the architecture may be beautiful, but it is a fleeting beauty. Everything is affected by time and the elements. Everything will come to an end.
While that may feel like a depressing thought, that is the point. When we lose sight of God when we recognize beauty, we only see the temporal beauty. We only see the beauty that can pass away. We see on the surface, but not into the depths.
The beauty in the temple should be a beauty that points us to God as the creator of the beautiful stones. The beauty in the temple should be in having a place we can be assured of feeling our relationship with God. The beauty in the temple is the reminder that our sins can be forgiven and He wants to walk with us.
Jesus reminds us that temporal beauty is only skin deep. To find true beauty, we must look past what our eyes see. We need to see the nature of things. We need to notice God’s hand in that beauty. When we look past the surface and probe the depths of God’s connection, then we see into the eternal.
This is a genuinely useful skill. While I am eternally grateful for the marriage I have, the thing I value most about my marriage is the way that God sustains it. I love the beauty in teaching mathematics and watching young people grow, but the thing I value most is knowing God’s hand is at work and waiting for both me and my students to recognize God’s participation in the process. I love the cutting board I made for my wife last Christmas, but what I love the most is the wood God created and the skill God handed to me to shape it.
The world is far more beautiful when we take the time to look past the surface and find God in the heart of life.
