light of glory

"Men have a great deal of pleasure in human knowledge, in studies of natural things; but this is nothing to that joy which arises from this divine light shining into the soul. This light gives a view of those things that are immensely the most exquisitely beautiful, and capable of delighting the eye of the understanding. This spiritual light is the dawning of the light of glory in the heart. There is nothing so powerful as this to support persons in affliction, and to give the mind peace and brightness in this stormy and dark world." Jonathan Edwards

tell me the story

I want to echo the words of this song over the next few days.

'Sit with me and tell me once again
Of the story that's been told us
Of the power that will hold us
Of the beauty, of the beauty
Why it matters...'

(sara groves)

Gilead

I just finished a book tonight called Gilead. I was one of those books I didn't really want to finish because I've been meandering through it a few pages at time over the last few weeks and I just wanted to drag it out a bit longer. I loved it. It's a book about beauty, grace, memories, family, love... mixed in with thoughts on age, death, regret, heartache, loneliness... It's written as a letter from a old pastor to his young son as he approaches the end of his life.

Here's a couple quotes I read tonight... (it's not all this intense!)

"There is no justice in love, no proportion in it, and there need not be, because in any specific instance it is only a glimpse or parable of an embracing, incomprensible reality. It makes no sense at all because it is the eternal breaking in on the temporal. So how could it be subordinate itself to cause or consequence?"

"There are two occasions when the sacred beauty of Creation becomes dazzlingly apparant, and they occur together. One is when we feel our mortal insufficiency to the world, and the other is when we feel the world's mortal insufficiency to us. Augustine says the Lord loves each of us as an only child, and that has to be true. 'He will wipe the tears from all faces." It takes nothing from the loveliness of the verse to say that is exactly what will be required..."

"Theologians talk about a prevenient grace that precedes grace itself and allows us to accept it. It think there must also be a prevenient courage that allows us to be brave - that is, to acknowledge that there is more beauty than our eyes can bear, that precious things have been put into our hands and to do nothing to honor them is to do great harm. And therefore, this courage allows us...to make ourselves useful."

Anyway, read it if you get the chance. It's was the perfect book for a night like mine - a quiet night in a cosy room with christmas lights. It made me laugh, cry, think and hope. The best combinations.

how to paint

And we’re showing you how to paint, my love
To the numbers of our sycophantic applause
Are we teachers or thieves of souls, my love
Effecting the adventure of an inquisitive cause
Remember good is not always best, my love
There are times when God deplores it
Remember rules are not always wisdom, my love
There are times the devil settles for it
So let your imagination go mad my, love
Throw shapes and shimmy and shake
Create the most seductive intrigue, my love
That no other human being can make
Yes, smash the lines that we colour within
Put your soul and this world at odds
Become the provocative agitation
And the glorious beauty of the wildness of God.
- steve stockman, 2002

The Road

Just finished a book called The Road by Cormac McCarthy. I only bought it on Saturday but it has intrigued me... so I had to finish it quicker. It’s one of those books that, on the face of it, is completely depressing, with no sense of hope or direction or even clear storyline. But it manages to still show beauty through the use of language and the depiction of the relationship between a father and son. In a funny way, it is a case of reverse psychology. By presenting a world that is mostly terrifying and ugly and a future that is utterly bleak, it emphasises the few portrayals of goodness. It also makes me reflect more on the wonder of our “real” world and maybe even makes me think about the hope of heaven in complete contrast…

McCarthy writes… “All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one’s heart have a common provenance in pain.”

I went for a walk along the shore when I finished the book today. I think that the sea was that little bit bluer and the world even more beautiful than I remember…
The song on the radio is blaring Biffy Clyro’s line… I’ve forgotten how good it could be to feel alive…