Awful Beauty

Justice and mercy, love and wrath, righteousness and grace. Our God is defined by many characteristics that sometimes don't seem to fit together. Within them we see the awful beauty of God displayed. Circumstances in our lives remind us that we are small, finite beings who can never understand the workings of an infinite God. This past week hundreds have been killed, or gone missing because of devastating tornadoes in the midwest. We see the power of a God who rules the mighty forces of His creation, but beyond that will we be able to see the beauty of a God who is completely in control? I can see that beauty, but at times it is an awful beauty.

This morning in church that beauty hit me full force; it hit closer to home. A young man whom I serve with on the student leadership team just lost his father yesterday. He is only sixteen. We can ask why until we are blue in the face, and still never understand. All we can hope is that God will give us the grace necessary to see His beauty even as He displays His awful power and control over our lives. When things like death and natural disasters happen, the Lord does not seek to push us away from Him, rather He desires us to cling ever closer to Him in the midst of tragedy. Will we see only His terrible power, and shrink from His touch, or will we see an awful beauty, and draw close to seek out the eye of the storm?