Have you ever looked at something a hundred times, but one day suddenly really take notice of that particular thing in a new way? We are told over and over that beauty has a mould that it must be shaped into, when really, the very thing that makes something beautiful is its mysterious uniqueness to all that has been and all that will be beautiful. It is the ability to take enough of what is known in order to make it familiar, but enough of what is new in order to make it memorable.
Our perception of beauty is highly filtered through the lenses of our experience (the things we have seen previously with our own eyes) and by what has been impressed on us (the way we are told things are meant to be seen). What do you look for in order to determine whether or not something is beautiful? Do you compare it to something similar? Do you look for qualities that fit the current mold the world has defined as beauty? Do you outweigh the things you find admirable versus the unattractive characteristics? What is a measure of beauty and who are we to determine what that might look like?
We often say the beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but what would happen if we as the beholders chose to take the time to intentionally look for beauty. Over this past semester I had the incredible opportunity to work alongside the creative team at college. About six months ago Hillsong was given their very own TV channel and with that the college has the privilege of airing a show featuring Chapel: The College Experience. Working alongside this team I've not only learned so many new skills around creative directing, but also about resourcefulness and finding ways to uniquely express who each individual is while still remaining true to the look/feel/sound/and overall vibe of college. In this setting I was able to see beauty expressed in many different ways through art, dance, film and TV, songwriting, spoken word and story. The difference with this experience was that it allowed me not to look only at the external beauty, but rather to see the heart and soul that was put into the craft. I saw the hours put into choreographing, rehearsing and praying for what the dance would speak into peoples hearts. I saw take after take after take to get the angle exactly perfect. I witnessed the tears poured out over a song that might never be heard. I experienced the tension of being true to who we are while still engaging with the audience. This, to me, is beauty. It is something that nudges your heart and moves you to be a little kinder, to stand a little taller, to walk a little more confidently, to believe that you are capable of the unimaginable, to hear God a little more clearly and most important walk tomorrow a little bit closer to Him than you did yesterday. The both the creating and the experience of beauty is worship.
Listen...He's speaking. Tune your ear to hear the voice again. Listen for the sake of others. Join the pursuit of and encounter with our Saviour. The pursuit of fresh revelation in the places where heaven touches earth. The #thinplaces. The moments where we turn our eyes upon Jesus and allow everything around us to fade away leaving the moment completely transformed.
