I used to live
on a road named Majestic View, Lampe Missouri.
This Panorama from the top of a ski run in Colorado almost inspires.
Questions?
What draws me back to the mountains? Is it the beauty? Is it because they are gorgeous? Is it the challenge? Is it the overall sense of potential imminent
danger? What is the source of the
attraction? And, isn’t beauty in the eye
of the beholder? Doesn’t everybody argue
about the best vacation spot?
Reviewing my Dropbox account revealed a disproportionate
number of mountain pictures. (I even
tried to make a separate folder of “mountains” and was overwhelmed before I got
even halfway there.) Building log cabins in the mountains. Hiking along alpine
trails. Even just sitting and watching
the views always put me in different frame of mind. Why? Why
do mountains hold such fascination and intrigue?
Then, the other morning during spring break, 2015, while
sitting in Missouri, and not Colorado, since I had already gone to Colorado for
a ski trip this year, I noticed a possible answer. Psalm
76:4 claims about the Lord, You are
more glorious and majestic than the everlasting mountains. There it is; a brief but specific feature of
our Lord. I began to wonder why use both terms but since we seldom use those in
our common vernacular, I googled them. The mountains are used to form a
stepping stone for us to describe God.
He is not like the mountains
but better. He starts from the biggest
and best and most beautiful thing the ancients would have recognized and took
it to another level.
Glorious
Defined as “having, worthy of, or bringing fame or
admiration” or “having a striking beauty or spender that evokes feelings of
delighted admiration.” Of course the
mountains do this when we look at them or their pictures but to think of God in
these terms? Really?
Majestic
Googled and I uncovered “having or showing impressive beauty
or dignity.” It was when reading the
Synonyms that I was duly impressed:
palatial, monumental, awe-inspiring, just to name a few.
Conclusion
It seemed like I was not giving God enough credit. I was selling him short. I just thought he was pretty good. I just thought he was “up there” ranked with
other cool things in this world. I though of him as my “go to” guy. But in fact, it is written, he is more,
better than, far greater than the best we have!
He is essentially saying to us, “Think of your best view, picture, art,
sunset, scene, or whatever and know that I am better!” We look to the mountains as a favorite
vacation destination. Do we look to Him
as a favorite destination, location, place, or objective? Maybe it is a good
thing I am from the Show-Me state. I
must see something like these mountains to remind me of the splendor of
God.
Thanks for letting me share.
Tom
PS. Lampe is 4 miles north of Blue Eye, Missouri.
This writing is also scheduled to release through Journey Church Blog, Troy Missouri on Thursday, March 19th, 2015.
