Not every Christian believes in some of the popularized
Christian notions of an eternal lake of fire, the annihilation of all creation (rather
than purification by fire), etc. But in closing (and perhaps this is the place
we should start with some individuals) here are some ways you can suggest to
your friend that she might sense, in N.T. Wright’s memorable phrase, “echoes of
a voice.” This voice speaks about the way the world should be.
2. Beauty: Another
“echo” is in the realm of beauty. N.T. Wright writes, “This is the position we
are in when confronted by beauty. The world is full of beauty, but the beauty
is incomplete. Our puzzlement about what beauty is, what it means, and what (if
anything) it is there for is the inevitable result of looking at one part of a
larger whole. Beauty, in other words, is another echo of a voice—a voice which
(from the evidence before us) might be saying one of several different things,
but which, were we to hear it in all its fullness, would make sense of what we
presently see and hear and know and love and call ‘beautiful.’” (Wright, 2006,
p. 40)
The beauty that we see in the world—in people,
relationships, nature, music, art, children—is not equal to God or even
necessarily an accurate picture of God. Just as a desire for justice sometimes
misdirects people into violence (one of the great paradoxes), so beauty fades
and misleads, because it is incomplete.
But the point that can be perceived is that in the mind of the
Creator, the original masterpiece still exists. Though we don’t see the
complete picture—just shadows—the beauties we perceive around us are like
signposts, pointing to something greater. And they point to the beauty that
will one day arrive when God the Creator rescues, heals, restores and completes
the beautiful creation.
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