Jason Silver

Thursday, December 5th, 2019

I find it fascinating that there can be beauty in broken things, in decaying things. I'm drawn to the texture of a weathered board; the grain raised against the blast of heat and cold; parts scoured away by the wind of ages. When I'm driving around, I like to take note of worn out places, that I might return later to capture my feelings with a camera.

Maybe I'm drawn to these spots because within them lies an echo of an eternal truth: that in weakness, and brokenness, God is glorified.

To look at things through God's eyes has been called the "Upside Down World," and I think that is a wonderful term. We would naturally expect the strongest to be first, and weakest last, but that's not how Jesus described God's kingdom! Jesus says, how blessed are the poor in spirit!

The birth of our savior in a lowly stable is another example of the upside down world! How strange that God would lower himself to be a human baby, swaddled in rags, put to sleep on a bed of hay, with the unpleasant smell of farm animals all around! What child is this?

Yes, there is a beauty in the stark contrast of seemingly contradicting ideas. Imagine that something broken, even broken and defeated on a cross, can rise again to be the saviour of the world!

I invite you to look carefully at the broken and decaying parts in your world. Perhaps there's a beauty to be found there, as the Spirit of God breathes new life and new vision into your soul? Perhaps you have not yet considered how the your life would appear in an upside down world?

What are you waiting for? Whether you're a peasant, a king, or anything in between, the Lord Jesus awaits you to kneel before him, and to place him on your throne.

Amen