I am studying in the book of Exodus
right now. I was struck as I read this
verse in Exodus 28:2. I wasn’t able to
move beyond it until I gave it some thought.
Why would the idea that God would do something for the expressed purpose
of beauty surprise me? Like some of you
I was a part of a renewal movement during the 1960’s and 70’s. It was birthed by a hunger to know God in a
more intimate way than the forms and rituals of religion alone. It produced a radical pursuit of God through
Jesus and the Holy Spirit. That spirit
of yearning, motivated by the Love for God, created, in some ways, a disdain
for the more formal forms of worship.
There was a “throwing out the baby with the bathwater” approach to this
new era of church planting and Christian practice. It was reflected in the architecture and
quality of our meeting places, the lack of grandeur in our spiritual gatherings
and even the clothes that we wore. In
many ways it was a necessary departure from the old norms in order to discover
a more vibrant worship lifestyle. We
placed our emphasis on knowing God personally and worshipping from our
hearts. It was all centered around the
indwelling, active, motivating Holy Spirit.
I have to ask if something was missing from our renewal journey? Probably not in the sense of that time as
that approach made the main thing the main thing. Yet, God is bigger than our revelation of the
hour. He is always larger and grander
than our present revelation and understanding. Now back to beauty. God loves beauty and values beauty. When I read of the plans for the tabernacle
and the detail given to the garments of the priests I see over and again that
God cares about quality and beauty. We
have almost come to believe that if the Holy Spirit does it that it must be
crude with no thought of beauty being involved.
However, the first time the Scripture mentions the Holy Spirit filling
someone it relates to God filling the artisans with the Holy Spirit to
skillfully work on His designs in clothes and buildings. Certainly these are Old Testament
instructions and we are now the temple of the Holy Spirit but that doesn’t
change God’s taste, His pleasure and His quality in all he does and leads us to
do. That brings us to appreciate His
Glory and Beauty. I visited the Louvre
in Paris last winter. It made me aware of
how much of the old art had a religious theme.
Many of them were anointed to create what the Holy Spirit led them to
design. The same is true in music and
much of the Arts. That doesn’t mean that
all art and all music are good. It does
mean that we need to open our minds to a broader appreciation to the work of
the Holy Spirit. May we release the
gifts already given to the Church by encouraging those around us to discover
their God given gifts and talents and use them for His Glory and Beauty.
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