Dear Friends,
As you enjoyed (or endured) 35oC heat last month, Pauline and I were relaxing in the Scottish Highlands, appreciating the fact that temperatures about 20o cooler made it much easier for us to sleep comfortably… and that it created ideal conditions for walking and exploring some of the most stunning scenery that the British Isles has to offer.
Ideal, that is, except for the one or two occasions when the weather closed in from the Atlantic, the rain came down and the sea mist obscured the views… most frustratingly on the day when we visited the Isle of Skye en route to our eventual destination further north.
As we visited the beauty spots that we were aiming for, hoping in vain that the rain would stop, Pauline commented how frustrating it was not being able to see the views of the mountains and islands that we knew were there. And it occurred to us that the weather that day was a parable, or a picture-story, of our human nature.
Rain and mist might sometimes hide the beauty around us… but that beauty is actually still there – it just needs the rain to stop and the mist to clear in order for the true beauty of the landscape to be revealed.
As human beings made in God’s image, we too have built-in beauty waiting to be revealed. Our problem is that in a broken world, our beauty is sometimes hidden by the rain and murk of the selfish attitudes and actions that the Bible uncompromisingly describes as sin, and by the hurt caused by our circumstances or the selfishness of others.
However, the Bible also reveals that in Jesus we have a Saviour, a rescuer, who came to deal with our sin and pain. He is described as the Light of the World (John 8:12), because he came to shine his light into our lives, so that remarkably we in turn can be the light of the world (Matthew 5:14).
Thankfully for us, the Scottish rain stopped, the mist cleared and for the rest of our holiday we were able to enjoy the beauty that had been there all along. As Jesus shines his light on your life, may more and more of the hidden beauty of God’s image in you be revealed for others to enjoy!
With my love and prayers
Matthew Scott