Does Great Beauty Last?

 

The Ponte Vecchio's reputation as Florence's old "Butcher's Bridge" was changed when Cosimi De Medici put restrictions on the type of vendors who could sell their wares on the bridge. The butchers were replaced with gold merchants, and for the past 400 years the bridge over the Arno River has been home to a vast collection of jewelers specializing in expensive gold selections.

We were walking back to the hotel after crossing the "Golden Bridge," when I saw this artist doing his chalk art masterpiece on the road. I was stunned. Who would invest so much talent, time and effort in something the next rain will wash away?  

I thought about it a lot, and I realized we all do it. To one degree or another, we all try to enhance the moments of our lives. We strive for beauty. Although we know our lovely little sand castles will be washed away by the tide, we go to the beach and build them anyway. 

It's as if we all know the truth; a moment won't last forever, but it's impact might.

One hour doesn't last longer than 60 minutes, but the beautiful conversation that fills that hour can change your life. A worship service is over before you know it, but what happens during that service can change your eternity.

There's more in the moment than the moment.

So, we do our best with the minutes we're given, knowing we're adding value when we lift, and love, and beautify our world - even if the moments pass and the beauty fades. Eternity is relatively consequential; it emerges from the beautiful moments of life.

The beauty you offer lives on. Even if it seems your most picturesque moments won't survive the next rain, the impact of your stunning contribution will last forever. 

Count on it.

1 Peter 1:23-25  -  For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God. As the Scriptures say, “People are like grass; their beauty is like a flower in the field. The grass withers and the flower fades. But the word of the Lord remains forever.” And that word is the Good News that was preached to you.

Comments

[Courtney (Helman) Schultz]

When I was studying abroad in Rome and all of Italy, I saw this guy!!!! His artwork was beautiful, but I particularly appreciated the tourist directions that he scribbles next to his artwork: "Spanish Steps, third alley on the left", "No, I will not take your picture", etc. Did he have such helpful hints there when you saw him??