This excerpt from the editorial, written by Rev. Sam Chaise, General Secretary of Canadian Baptist Ministries, in this summer’s “Mosaic” magazine, seems especially appropriate to us at Community Life Church, as it really fits with what Pastor Jeff has been saying.
"What sort of a god would make something that looks like this?" That was what I heard in the midst of silence as I gazed, two summers ago, at a sunset framed by ocean and mountains. I was in the midst of a difficult time in my life, having faced much loss, and it had shaken my faith in the goodness of God. As I stared into the stunning vista in front of me, the question wafted into my consciousness: what sort of god would make something that looks like this? Something so beautiful, so lavish? And I realized that, even if I was someone who knew nothing about God, the sheer beauty of what I was seeing would lead me to believe that whoever made it was good.
I am inspired by beauty, especially by beauty in nature. Each of us is inspired in different ways, and it is important for us to discover them and nurture them so that we can be sustained in the work God calls us to do.
"Inspire" literally means to "breathe in."
It is about being filled with something from the outside that animates and enlivens us inside. Just as oxygen vitalizes our bodies, inspiration enlivens our souls. In the beginning, God breathed life into earth-matter and the first humans were created. Today, we can breathe in the Spirit and be filled. Body-soul inspiration ultimately comes from God. The deepest and longest-lasting inspiration comes from breathing in God himself, and breathing in the new things that God is doing in us and around us.
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