DAY 26

CAPTIVATED

NIKKI CATHERINCCHIA, TEACHING PASTOR

Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise! He is to be feared above all gods. The gods of other nations are mere idols, but the Lord made the heavens! Honor and majesty surround him; strength and beauty fill his sanctuary. —Psalm 96:4–6

The old adage tells us that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. In essence this means the standard of beauty is actually not objective at all but rather set in the mind of the one who observes it. As someone who has a deep appreciation for art, I absolutely understand this. Walking through the halls of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, it quickly becomes apparent that in the sea of artistic offerings, what might be beautiful to any given visitor varies immensely. Some eyes are drawn to the abstract, while others long to see a statue in all of its marble or bronze glory, and yet still, there are the ones who look upon the softness of watercolor and gaze in wonderment. At the Met, like in any renowned museum, one can find countless masterpieces from a multitude of genres. Pieces that have garnered the kind attention that makes it sought after. Leaving many novices, like myself, to wonder what truly makes a piece of art a masterpiece? What deems it worthy of the adoration of generations? Why do we still revere such pieces as the Mona Lisa? Simply put, we are captivated by their beauty.

When the Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo Da Vinci in the 1500s, his contemporaries and the masters who came before him had failed to capture a photorealistic portrait of the human face. They struggled to paint shadows correctly and could not illustrate perspective or contrast light. Therefore, paintings prior to the Mona Lisa had a distorted representation of their human subjects. What DaVinci had that the others lacked was an understanding of light. His use of light chipped away at the distortions that up to that point had robbed the human image of what it truly looked like. It was his use of light that brought the beauty of his subject to life. The result was a painting that has captivated its beholders for centuries.

However, as accomplished as Leonardo DaVinci was, he is not the greatest artist of all time. The Mona Lisa is not the greatest artistic accomplishment ever documented. Not even close. God is actually the greatest artist of all time...the Author and Creator of the greatest masterpiece ever known. Creation itself illuminates the glory and majesty of God’s artistry. All throughout the Scriptures we find anthems of praise for the beauty of God’s handiwork. Captivated by all that God has done, the human heart longs to sing out praises to the One who created such breathtaking sights and authored such mighty deeds. But what was God's recipe? What is in the secret sauce of God’s creative process? Well, Mr. DaVinci wasn’t the first one to discover that true beauty can only be conveyed through a proper understanding of light. As we open God’s Word, we find that the canvas God worked upon was completely blank. Genesis chapter 1 tells us:

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. Then he separated the light from the darkness. —Genesis 1:1–5

With the absence of light, everything is empty and formless. In the darkness the true beauty of creation could have never been realized. Therefore, God begins to stroke His artist’s brush with light. Into creation He speaks everything into existence based upon the truth that light is necessary to not just survive but to thrive. Light dictates the movement of the oceans, it breathes life into vegetation, it illuminates the majesty of all creation. Light sets all things right; it is the starting point and the sustainer of all life.

However, sin plummeted humanity back into a darkened existence: perspective lost and struggling to understand the contrast of light because darkness rules where sin lives. Ultimately, the lack of light reduces us to a pre DaVinci existence, where every depiction of humanity is distorted and less than what we were created to be. Yet, the God who began painting His masterpiece with light returns to Light again to restore our beauty.

In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it. —John 1:1–5

The words in John's Gospel remind us that it is in the Light, Jesus Himself, that we find perspective again. It is in Jesus that we are no longer distorted by sin. It is in Jesus that we can walk in the fullness of light and the abundance of life.

When we read the Apostle Paul’s words to the church in Ephesus, “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago

(Ephesians 2:10),” we must be careful of what captivates our hearts. Yes, we are God’s masterpiece, but as such we must never become captivated with ourselves but rather with the One whose beauty radiates in and through us. As we read the pages of God’s Word, as we walk along the white sands of a shoreline or marvel at a sunset, as we hear the cry of new life or gaze upon the marker of a life well lived, as we stare in the mirror and see a reflection that is no longer distorted by sin but one crowned in grace and mercy, what captivates our hearts should be the beauty of our Savior who made it all possible. The One who authored creation, the One who is displayed in creation, and the One who has redeemed creation. It is His beauty that should captivate us.

Beauty is truly found in the eyes of the beholder. Therefore, you must ask yourself, what do you deem beautiful? Is your standard of beauty dictated by the world, distorted and lacking perspective? Or are you captivated by Jesus? You see, to be truly captivated by the beauty of Jesus, you must first behold Him. You must walk through the hallowed halls of the Word that reveals Him. You must sit in His presence, gazing upon Him until the darkness of the world loses its grip and the fullness of His light engulfs you, the power of His artistry taking hold of your senses and moving you to a greater desire to live in His light. This is what it means to be captivated.

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, today we sit in awe of You. What You have created; the sun that shines, the vastness of the seas, the mountains that tower over the lush green valleys, the colors that paint the sky day and night. Father, Your artistry is not lost on us. Then we look at our own lives. We stare at the one who was once lost, dead in sin, perspective lost, wandering in darkness. But God! You stepped in and sent the Light of the world to set right all that had been distorted. So today we fix our gaze upon Jesus, captivated by the beauty of the Savior who gave Himself fully so that we might know Your goodness, Your grace, and Your love.