It's Worth It!

After church yesterday, a family took me down to "Sculpture By the Sea" at Bondi.  We ate fish and chips on the wind-swept knoll overlooking the water.  The sun was shining and the exhibition was "chockers" (full, packed) as we slowly shuffled down the path from Bondi beach to Tamarama.  I learned that every cove is a specific beach and is a different suburb.

Like most art exhibits, some displays were more impressive than others.  I'm pretty sure most of the time I don't "get" art.  I appreciate the skill, craftsmanship, and creativity these artists pour into their craft.  Some of the displays were large, others intricate, some labor intensive, and then there were ones just to shake your head at:  what the heck is that supposed to be or represent?  That is the product of six-month's work and ten thousands of dollars?  Only humans can waste their time so well.

But there is at least one thing in common between the "struggling artist" and the Christian:  the passion to pursue a goal other people do not understand, comprehend, or support.  While an artist works for self-expression, a Christian lives for Christ to express Himself through him.  I'm sure many people look at the lifestyle of a Christian and say, "All that trouble for what?  What's the point of believing in God and pursuing a "relationship" with someone you can't even see?"  Only someone who does not know God can think and speak like that!  God exists as true as Christ lived on earth, and His creative power is the inspiration for countless artists.  God is the original Artist, the Divine Creator who simply spoke the universe into existence.  While we make things out of what have already have been made, God did not even have a canvas.  God made His own clay by words alone, and then formed man and breathed into him a living soul.  God is beautiful and His handiwork exalts His name.

The labor, struggles, and difficulties we face in life may not be regarded by some men as worthwhile, but through the eyes of faith we see differently than the world sees.  2 Corinthians 4:16-18 reads:  "Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. ¹⁷ For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, ¹⁸ while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal."  Let us work faithfully for the praise of One, our Great God and Savior Jesus Christ.  His approval and glory ought to be our chief aim in all we do.