It was dark, windy, and too cold for my thin hoodie. And yet, I sat out there on the concrete wall, retaining what little heat I had and hoping to connect with God next to a parking lot that was butted up against the waters of the intracoastal. The sky had its stars, the water had its waves, and man had his bridge, sitting there atop the waters like one-half of a hand cupped in clapping.
She was a drawbridge, totally in control of those who would walk all over her, and yet rarely exercising her ability to make them stop. No one ever really appreciated her: she was just a means to an end. The other end, specifically. They never counted the cost of the innumerable tons of concrete used to construct her gentle slope and never took the time to notice the strength of her intricate mechanized underbelly. And yet, she never reacted in anger to those who would ignore her, but only every so often would she open her mouth to sing, stopping driver and pedestrian alike in their pursuit of the other side.
But when she sang, everyone stopped.
Not everyone would stop out of a wish to admire her grandeur. In fact, more often than not, her beautiful song went unnoticed, covered by her audience's insignificant distractions. While they were worried about who was going to make dinner, or why their lives never seemed to work out quite as they had hoped, her gears turned and her rivets held a long, silent note that pierced the night air. Her beauty made them stop, but their admiration was their own to indulge.
On that day when we find ourselves at eternity's shore, we will also be confronted with an immeasurable beauty - that of the bridegroom accepting His bride. All of the most lavish weddings of the earth will rise in their humble submission to the fact that they were a drop in the bucket compared to the elegance to be portrayed that day. The altar will be the Great White Throne room, and the Father will give away His Bride to His Son, recounting the long and strenuous story of redemption as a joy that resulted in that moment of union.
Dear friends, the beauty of a drawbridge, or a mountain, or a song are meant to point us to the beauty of Christ, not only on that wedding day, but every day. The only difference is that Christ will be too beautiful too ignore.
So take a minute, read the Psalms, walk out into nature, see the ocean. Anything. Just reflect on the beauty of Christ.
"Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them." (Rev. 20)
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