Beholding the Beauty of the Lord
I was
reading a verse this morning, one of my favorites in the Scriptures.
“One thing
have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house
of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to
inquire in his temple.” Psalm 27:4 (ESV)
Recently my
wife and I were blessed to see some beautiful cathedrals and Christian art in
Europe. I remember that when I first saw some of these places as a student,
forty-nine years ago, that the sheer beauty of these Christian edifices got my
attention spiritually during what was otherwise largely a time of spiritual
wandering and significant doubt. I want to share two accounts of how Christian
art has brought people to Christ.
Last year in
the Daily Telegraph, a British newspaper, Olivia Rudgard, religious affairs
correspondent wrote an article entitled, “One in six young people are
practising Christians, new figures show, as research suggests thousands convert
after visiting church buildings.” She continues: “Around 13 per cent of
teenagers said that they decided to become a Christian after a visit to a
church or cathedral, according to the figures. The influence of a church
building was more significant than attending a youth group, going to a wedding,
or speaking to other Christians about their faith.”
Another
person who was brought to Jesus partially by Christian art and magnificent
cathedrals was MITALI PERKINS, an author of children’s books. She is a Bengali American
who was not raised Christian. He father’s work brought her to many places. She went to college in the US but studied a
year in Austria
Of her time
there, she writes, “When the snowfall grew heavy, I ducked into cathedrals.
Stained glass glowed in soft patterns of mustard, saffron, indigo, and coral.
Arches and vaults soared so high I could hardly see where they intersected.
Always, the twisted, half-naked figure on the cross at the front shone as if he
were sweating.”
“Most of the
art that caught my eye, whether in cathedrals or museums, seemed to be about
Jesus….During midwinter break, a few students invited me to join them in
Russia, and I agreed. Maybe I would regain some perspective in the famously
atheistic country. The Russian tour led us through prisons, cemeteries, and
churches with histories of massacres and torture, where ancient icons displayed
the Crucifixion. I felt overwhelmed by evil. How could God—if God existed—leave
humanity alone to endure so much?”
“One
afternoon, we headed to the Hermitage, the world-renowned museum in St.
Petersburg. The regular English-speaking guide was ill, so a higher-up museum
official was assigned to take us from room to room. Again, many of the
paintings depicted Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. I stood at the edge of
the group, questions racing through my mind. As our group was about to leave,
the museum official pulled me aside. “What are you thinking about so deeply?”
he asked in a low voice. I was surprised into telling the truth. “A loving God.
Human suffering. How can both exist?” “You are at an intersection of choice,”
he said. “Either you decide that Jesus is the Son of God, or you turn your back
on him forever. You must choose.”
I felt a
shiver that had nothing to do with the icy Russian winter. Was there nowhere to
go without confronting the man on the cross?” (Mitali eventually came to faith in Christ. She writes
children’s books and is married to a Presbyterian minister.) God used Christian
art and church buildings to touch her.
Winfield Casey Jones is a retired pastor
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