Recently I stood for the second time in the Sistine Chapel.
It was almost exactly two years since my first visit. It amazed me how much things had changed. Not about the Chapel itself, but about me.
You see, when I was there the first time, I was undergoing information overload. I think that this happens to many of us when we encounter a new place or situation. I remember visiting quietly with my colleagues and students for the majority of the time that we were in the room, discussing the images displayed magnificently before us. I walked around the chamber trying to frantically observe every panel during the short time we were there.
This time I found a seat on a bench along the side wall. And I sat.
I thought.
I reflected.
I prayed.
I sat. And it was perfect. I allowed the quiet and beauty of the moment to challenge me as I considered God and His redemptive work throughout history.
This moment was a renewing challenge: to be still and reflect on who God is. Everyday life is remarkably busy, and I know that often I put far too many things on my plate. We are our own worst distractions. But this is not our only choice.
This morning when I woke up, I read these verses:
It was almost exactly two years since my first visit. It amazed me how much things had changed. Not about the Chapel itself, but about me.
You see, when I was there the first time, I was undergoing information overload. I think that this happens to many of us when we encounter a new place or situation. I remember visiting quietly with my colleagues and students for the majority of the time that we were in the room, discussing the images displayed magnificently before us. I walked around the chamber trying to frantically observe every panel during the short time we were there.
This time I found a seat on a bench along the side wall. And I sat.
I thought.
I reflected.
I prayed.
I sat. And it was perfect. I allowed the quiet and beauty of the moment to challenge me as I considered God and His redemptive work throughout history.
This moment was a renewing challenge: to be still and reflect on who God is. Everyday life is remarkably busy, and I know that often I put far too many things on my plate. We are our own worst distractions. But this is not our only choice.
This morning when I woke up, I read these verses:
"But you have burdened me with your sins; you have wearied me with your iniquities. I, I am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake, and I will not remember your sins." (Isaiah 43:24b-25)
In the same breath that God tells us He has been hurt by us, He says that He forgives us according to His divine character. AMAZING!
You see, today I do not have the luxury of the Sistine Chapel. Right now there is only God's word, a computer, and me. And I still want to marvel. I still want to be challenged. That, friends, is my hope and prayer for us all: that wherever we are at, we would be aware of God's presence shining through the moment.
Bibliography
The Holy Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments with the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books: New Revised Standard Version. New York: Oxford UP, 1989. Print.
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