Beauty or Beast

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder".

There is much beauty in our world.

But if I am honest I must confess

I am guilty of misinterpreting it and

I have often missed it-

too busy

too selfish

too harried

too hurried

too distracted

too centered on the temporary

to notice

the steady

the constant

the consistent

the slow paced

the recurring yet varied

the never changing, unseen, eternal

"Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw..." 

Numbers 22:31 

"the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw..." 

2 Kings 6:17

Sometimes it is easy to see that life is beautiful.

Sometimes it is all too obvious that life can be a beast.

I want to find the beauty in the beast.

I want to see, I want to live, I want to walk life 

as God sees and defines it.

Father, please continue to open my eyes 

so I might see more clearly,

so I might recognize:

what is real

what is lasting

what is unseen

what is important

what is beneath the surface.

Father, please continue to open my eyes

so that I am not distracted by,

so that I am not deceived by: 

what is artificial

what is temporary

what is "in my face"

what claims to be urgent

what is flaunted as being "reality".

I echo Paul's prayer, for myself and fellow believers:

"having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, 

that you may know what is the hope to which He has called you, 

what are the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints,

and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe, 

according to the working of His great might that He worked in Christ 

when He raised Him from the dead 

and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 

far above all rule and authority and power and dominion,

and above every name that is named, 

not only in this age but also in the one to come." 

Ephesians 1:18-21