In his song “Better is One Day”, Matt Redman writes “One thing I ask and I would seek to see Your beauty, to find You in the place Your glory dwells.” The song, taken from Psalm 84, extols the goodness of residing with our Heavenly Father. Countless times I’ve sand the words without pondering what they meant. This weekend, I did. And what I settled upon was this – if we were able to see God’s beauty, I don’t think we could comprehend it. Additionally, seeing someone’s beauty is usually about seeing their face, and in God’s case, that would lead to our immediate removal from this planet (Exodus 33:20) which I doubt is what the thousands of congregants who sing this song intend. However, although we can’t see God’s face this side of heaven, we can see the impact of His glory. In fact, we can be instruments of its administration by reflecting His love, sharing His grace, and demonstrating His mercy. It’s through or act of worship that His beauty is revealed because its in these acts that we most reflect Him.
Unnoticed
Some people, when asked what super power they would most like to have, choose invisibility. Others of us don’t need to wish for this attribute because its a normal part of our lives. This isn’t a bad thing necessarily. As Carrie Underwood recently referred to herself, some of us are “blenders.” We’re not people that you would pick out of a crowd. Its not that we’re literally invisible, we’re just easy not to pay attention to. Recently I was out to dinner with some friends (all male, coincidently) and when I left the table I realized that I wasn’t sure that the conversation would have been any different had I not been there. Except for one of them realizing mid-way through ordering that they should have let me go first, I was pretty much table garnish. For whatever reason, I just don’t command a lot of attention – unless I’m playing fooseball or issuing my blistering whistle. And the fact is, I take a lot of comfort in the lack of attention that I receive. Once a friend remarked that it was his goal to make sure that I didn’t languish in obscurity. I retorted obscurity was kind of my goal. I am one of those people who enjoy the background.
This lack of identification has many benefits. One of the reasons that I don’t stand out is because physically I’m perfectly average. This means that shopping online for clothes is a cinch; my purchases don’t have to conform to a certain defining physiological attribute. My lack of notoriety also means that I have a lot of opportunity for observation. It may be why I’m so sensitive to others’ state of being; why I send e-mails of encouragement at the slightest hint of discord. Going unnoticed means that I notice a lot about others. It’s probably one of the reasons I write these blogs.
However, sometimes I take my ability to blend too far. Sometimes I notice a need and I don’t act to meet it. Sometimes I hear of someone’s pain and not wanting to intrude, I walk away. I don’t speak because I am afraid I won’t be heard not remembering that obedience is required regardless of impact. While my lack of action may go unnoticed by the world, my Maker will surely take note, and next time He may not give me the opportunity.