Pointing to God’s Beauty
We live in a world filled with darkness and despair. Living in this world, beauty is lost many times. It is lost because we do not see it and it is lost because we don't understand what beauty actually is. The darkness of the world blinds us to true beauty.
It was into this darkness that Christ, the true light, entered. He showed us what light is and in doing so, He redefined beauty.
The title of this blog is "A Stone's Throw Away." Recently, I stumbled across the band, The National Parks. I have been listening to their album for a couple months now and I can't seem to get away from a particular song, Stone's Throw.
Below you will find the lyrics of the song. Take time to listen to the song (you will find a video of an acoustic version on this page).
Stone's Throw
The National Parks
from the album Until I Live
I think my heart, I think my heart's a time machine
The more I see the faster I can feel it beat
Oh, can you feel it too?
I start to dream, I start to dream about the road
I wanna see, I wanna see how far it goes
Oh, are you dreaming too?
Maybe we are closer than we think
I am starting to believe
Heaven
Is a stone's throw away
Heaven
Is a stone's throw away from here
Do you ever think, do you ever think about the stars
To see them clear you have to step into the dark
Oh, I will carry you
I will lift you up if you can't reach
we are closer than we think
Heaven
Is a stone's throw away
Heaven
Is a stone's throw away from here
There's something that I feel inside
when I'm looking out to a sea of light
Singing oh, I'm feeling like
Heaven
Is a stone's throw away
Heaven
Is a stone's throw away from here
We are a stone's throw away
We are a stone's throw
©2015 Groundloop Records
It was into this darkness that Christ, the true light, entered. He showed us what light is and in doing so, He redefined beauty.
The title of this blog is "A Stone's Throw Away." Recently, I stumbled across the band, The National Parks. I have been listening to their album for a couple months now and I can't seem to get away from a particular song, Stone's Throw.
Below you will find the lyrics of the song. Take time to listen to the song (you will find a video of an acoustic version on this page).
Stone's Throw
The National Parks
from the album Until I Live
I think my heart, I think my heart's a time machine
The more I see the faster I can feel it beat
Oh, can you feel it too?
I start to dream, I start to dream about the road
I wanna see, I wanna see how far it goes
Oh, are you dreaming too?
Maybe we are closer than we think
I am starting to believe
Heaven
Is a stone's throw away
Heaven
Is a stone's throw away from here
Do you ever think, do you ever think about the stars
To see them clear you have to step into the dark
Oh, I will carry you
I will lift you up if you can't reach
we are closer than we think
Heaven
Is a stone's throw away
Heaven
Is a stone's throw away from here
There's something that I feel inside
when I'm looking out to a sea of light
Singing oh, I'm feeling like
Heaven
Is a stone's throw away
Heaven
Is a stone's throw away from here
We are a stone's throw away
We are a stone's throw
©2015 Groundloop Records
Stone’s Throw by The National Parks
It is the vocation of the church to point to beauty. I like to think of the church as a prism. God shines the pure light of His grace (charis) through the prism (the church) and the church then radiates His light out as charismata.
What is charismata? It is a Greek word that I left intentionally in the Greek. Here are a few definitions:
1. A gift with which one receives without any merit of his/her own.
2. The economy of divine grace, by which, the pardon of sin and eternal salvation is appointed to sinners in consideration of the merits of Christ laid hold of by faith.
3. Grace enabling Christians to serve the church of Christ, the reception of which is due to the power of divine grace operating on the souls by the Holy Spirit.
Charismata is usually translated as 'gift' in our English Bibles. It is a gift, but it is directly tied to grace. Notice the Greek word for grace (charis) is the foundation for charismata. The abilities that God gives us are based on His grace.
His grace shines through the church and we reflect that grace through our gifts.
What does this have to do with A Stone's Throw? Look at this little line, "I will lift you up if you can't reach. We are closer than we think."
God's presence is with us, but the world is blind to the beauty of His grace. We get the privilege of 'lifting' the world up to see His beauty!
That's what this blog is about- the beauty of God and pointing out His grace in our world.