Beautiful

Last summer, Pastor Mike told a story about a young man who had been blind from birth.  Over time, he met a girl.  A very special girl.  He and this girl fell in love.  This girl was the daughter of a well-respected surgeon.  As he asked his future son-in-law questions about his vision impairment, the doctor realized that with a fairly simply surgery, this young man would be able to see.  Shortly before the wedding, the young man was able to undergo the surgery. 

The doctor that performed the surgery offered to take the bandages off his eyes a few days early so that he would be able to be visually involved in the days prior to the wedding ceremony.  He opted to wait to have the bandages removed only moments before taking his place at the altar, seconds before his bride walked down the aisle on her father’s arm.  The first face that his eyes focused on was that of his bride.  As she approached the front of the church, he clasped her hands and whispered in awe, 

“My love, you are far more beautiful than I could have imagined.”

On occasion, I become frustrated because I cannot see the face of my God.  How am I to believe in the unseen?   People say that He is beautiful, and that they see Him all around them.  I suppose that is true, but I can’t actually SEE Him.  I think I "see" Him as I see the wind- I cannot actually see the wind itself, but I watch as its effects sweep across the prairie.  

But I think that is only a shadow of the beauty of Jesus.  Nature’s beauty, as well as the beautiful examples we have from His life, are only a mere glimpse of who He truly is.

Sometimes I wonder what it will be like when I first catch a glimpse of Him.  I try to imagine the glory of those first few moments together- His face containing the beauty of the sunrise and the stars and the flowers and the mountains and smiles and all things beautiful all added together, emitting an ethereal glow.

*sigh*  But that is only my imagination.

Someday... someday, I will see Him.

Someday, I will have the blinders removed from my eyes as I enter the throne room for the wedding of the church to the Lamb.  I imagine that I will walk down the pathway to where He waits for me in utter awe.  My eyes have just been opened to invisible.  I imagine that I too will say something like, 

“My love, you are far more beautiful than I could have imagined.”  

Actually, I’ll probably be speechless.

Beautiful by Phil Wickham

I see Your face in every sunrise
The colors of the morning are inside Your eyes
The world awakens in the light of the day
I look up to the sky and say
You're beautiful

I see Your power in the moonlit night
Where planets are in motion and galaxies are bright
We are amazed in the light of the stars
It's all proclaiming who You are
You're beautiful

I see You there hanging on a tree
You bled and then You died and then you rose again for me
Now You are sitting on Your heavenly throne
Soon we will be coming home
You're beautiful

When we arrive at eternity's shore
Where death is just a memory and tears are no more
We'll enter in as the wedding bells ring
Your bride will come together and we'll sing
You're beautiful

I see Your face, I see Your face, I see Your face
You're beautiful, You're beautiful, You're beautiful