Gaze Upon His Loveliness

~~~ Isaiah 29:17-24 ~~~ Psalm 27 ~~~ Matthew 9:27-31 ~~~

 

"...One thing I ask of the LORD;
this I seek:
To dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
That I may gaze on the loveliness of the LORD
and contemplate his temple..."

 

A new mother gazes into the face of her newborn baby.

To gaze means to look intently with great curiosity, interest,

pleasure, or wonder.

 

To gaze on the loveliness of God seems so simple.

In order to gaze one must be present and still.

It is the stillness that allows us to look intently.

It is the stillness that allows us to see the loveliness.

 

Lovely might be used by a father to describe how his daughter

looks on her wedding day.

Loveliness inspires love and beauty.

How would you describe the beauty of the Lord?

Can our puny words even do this loveliness justice?

 

Must we be inside the house of the Lord in order to gaze upon

his loveliness?

I relish to think about the loveliness of God.

As I look around at the beauty he has given us here on earth

how awesome must be his beauty.

 

Loveliness is a beauty that not only is physically appealing

but also emotionally appealing.

I believe God wants us to experience his

beauty through our emotions.

Beauty is not restricted to what you can see with your eyes.

The psalmist implies that we will want to sit

and gaze upon the loveliness of God

all the days of our life.

In heaven that would translate to all of eternity.

Our eyes will want to remain transfixed on the Lord.

This beauty will satisfy every need we have ever experienced.

 

 

The next phrase of this verse directs our attention

to the temple...God's house.

This is of course just for us because God certainly

does not need a 'place' to reside.

 

A favorite part of traveling for us is to visit the churches in different cities.

I have written before about how inspiring

La Familia Sagruda in Barcelona, Spain

is for me.

We are to encouraged to turn our thoughts toward God

while we are in his house. If this is to be then the structure

rightfully should reflect something of the qualities of God.

 

Consider just the quality of loveliness...

What is it about your place of worship that speaks of

the loveliness of the Lord?

Perhaps it is one statue, one candle, or the altar.

So often for me it has been

the sun streaming through the stained glass windows...

The colors dancing off the walls as the sun slowly

moves across the window...

this inspires me to contamplate the

loveliness of the Lord.

 

I have been blessed to witness the reflections from

the stained glass windows illuminate the altar during the Consecration.

We are surrounded with the loveliness of the Lord.

How often are we still long enough to gaze at the sight?

Take time to Gaze upon the Loveliness

of the Lord.

It will be good for your soul.