Equal Beauty

My soul was filled with awe last night when I ran through Central Park next to a lake which reflected one of the most awe-ful sunsets I've ever seen. Clouds illuminated by the canteloupe light of the setting sun rested on the truest of blue sky. Green trees lined the water and were set in front of black scyscraper silouhettes, breaking the green apart from the blue. It was God's creative glory that brought the beauty of the human accomplishment in the form of giant edifices in Manhattan to another level. It caught me by complete surprise, because I normally associate incredible sunsets with miles of distance from the civilized world.

Though I was running, I felt as if I could hardly breathe and the world stood still. It was almost too much for my heart to take in and I remember wishing my heart were bigger and my soul more able to comprehend the magnitude of God's glory displayed in this moment.

I got back from my run and realized the complexity of emotions which were tumbling inside me. You see, I just returned from a trip to third world Haiti and experienced the same overwhelming swell of emotion, but for quite a different reason. At one point in Haiti I found myself on my knees with tears in my eyes over the reality of the thousands of orphans still on the street, suffereing the cruelest effects of sin in the world. I wept also because I realized how fortunate I was, and how foolish my daily worries and concerns were. Furthermore, God had rescued the 50 orphans of Maison de Lumiere - He plucked them out darkness and into light. I wrestled to comprehend the greatness of this and of my own fortune.

It had been so long since I felt anything deep enough to make me cry. I wished my heart were stronger and my abilities greater to be used by God to help these people. I wished I could feel the depth of what God felt for them and see the magnitude of his love for those broken and beaten people there.

Whether in the center of one of the greatest cities in the world, or out in the slums of an impoverished nation, God remains the same. His glory is made known far above the crisis of human depravity, and outperforms even the most awe inspiring dislpays of human accomplishment. He rescues the orphans and He demonstrates the majesty of His mighty creation to the wealthy. He is God above all and His beauty is equal in ALL places.