“Beauty,” Lewis writes “descends from God into nature … Man appreciates it with worship and sends it back to God ... .”
Few of us cannot understand how God’s “beauty descends … into nature.” It’s visible everywhere in nature. Whether in the majestic mountain, or the translucent wing of a hummingbird, the diverse loveliness of our Creator surrounds us.
How, though, do we appreciate such magnificence in our Worship? How do worshiping creatures send beauty “back” to their Creator?
This Christmas I experienced something which gave me insight into how this happens. Shirley and I were able to visit our Kids in England and Maine. This meant we would meet 2 Granddaughters we’d never met. Sophia Rose, Jim’s and Korenne’s daughter was the first little Lady we met. Oh how lovely she is! My first words, on seeing her were, “You are beautiful!” Her initial response was expressionless. I tried to not overwhelm her. Gradually Shirley and I sensed her warming to us. I will never forget her first smile! Her lovely face radiated with an expression of delight that warmed my heart as few have! I knew I was being accepted, … as if she was returning to me the admiration I felt for her!
Fast forward a Week to Cape Elizabeth Maine where our Son Jonathan and his Wife Larina live. Shirley had already met their Daughter Sara Joy. I had not. She’s their third Child, Sister to two Brothers, Jonah, and Luke. She is younger than Sophia. My expectations of our meeting were uncertain. She too is very beautiful! Because of the miracle of her birth I held her as soon as her Mother passed her to me. She looked at me with a quiet serenity that instantly put me at ease. I walked with her; played with her; watched her trying to crawl and making progress beyond her months; she danced, chattered, and laughed in her jumper. She was comfortable with us and showed it in her playful delight with what was her life.
Sophia and Sara taught us how worship “gives back” to God the pleasures He gives to us. I couldn’t help but admire Sophia Rose. I felt her admiration in the unforgettable first smile she gave me. Our admiration for God, expressed in those private moments we share, and our Worship as His people together; admiration like that of a Child’s smile, sends back to God the adoration He shows us in the wonders surrounding us. Sara Joy, with her easily playful enjoyment of life, despite our strange presence, demonstrated a heartfelt trust as precious to us as any gift she could give us. When our trust in God puts us at ease with life despite his formidable, and sometimes unfamiliar presence; serene, joy-filled acceptance of life as He gives it to us, He is pleased; as pleased as when we formally proclaim that trust in the forms and rituals of our collective Worship.
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