By Pastor Linda Skinner Sometimes we get a glimpse of glory and the only thing we can do is praise God! The other day on our evening walk, I saw the most beautiful sunset. The colors shone through the trees with such brilliance, that I thought – “If I saw a picture painted with those colors I would think the artist was making it up.” No sunset could have those depths of color. But there it was and I could only say praise God!
I love beauty of nature, don’t you? But something that I find even more exciting than the most beautiful sunset is the beauty of a life well lived. A life that displays love, kindness and generosity in such a beautiful way that you can’t help but say, Praise God! Maybe I will call them “human sunsets.”
Recently, in Honduras, I encountered several of the those “human sunsets.” A striking picture of beauty so brilliant you couldn’t miss it. Once such instance was when we accompanied the kids of San Jose Orphanage to a place called “The Caves.” As the name indicates, we took them into some intriguing caves with great formations of crystals, stalactites, stalagmites and even a couple of bats. It was the first time for these kids and they were thrilled and excited. When we came out of the caves, I watched as the children ran over to Sister Edith chattering away in Spanish all excited to tell her all about their experiences. She had the biggest smile on her face and I could tell she was enjoying their stories and enthusiasm. It was the most beautiful picture of love. I could only say, praise God!
I think the Psalmist words in Psalm 19 “The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship.” He speaks poetically of the beauty of the nature around him. Then he ends the Psalms with these words, “May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” I believe, he is recognizing that a life reflecting God’s love and compassion is more beautiful to God than a beautiful sunset.
I pray that we can begin to appreciate those “human sunsets” we witness every day.
Pastor Linda Skinner
PS: Join us this weekend. Pastor Ben McCary will be sharing his Life Verse from Isaiah 62. It will be a sunset moment for you.