A Simple Meditation about the Beauty of Heaven

I always liked too much of taking pictures, and even more when I made a quick photo course at the university where I study audiovisual production, that among other subjects it is also related to radio and TV technical matters. And about three weeks ago I realized a little dream of mine: I bought a good professional photo camera (here in Brazil simple things like this are complicated due to high taxes embed in prices).

Now, of course, wherever I go I hold my camera with me, for I have a lot of opportunities to take good photos that people would like (I work at a Brazilian TV which is member of the Hope Channel Group, an adventist TV organization spread worldwide, and besides that I travel almost every weekend with the New Time Quartet, or Quarteto Novo Tempo in Portuguese, so you may realize how many pictures I can take…)

Well, in this past weekend I was taking some pictures while traveling. I got some moments when the weather was cloudy and some moments when the sun shyly showed its face. As I was taking some pictures of the nature, I noticed that the photo subject colors were so more vivid, were almost glowing out when sunny. There was a very clear difference between the sunny and the cloudy moments. I ever take pictures inside the studio where there are lots of spotlights directed to the recording sets, and all photos I take get vivid, shine, beautiful… perfect!

In my “long” photographer career I’ve perceived that whatever the subject is, be it a pretty nature portrait, be it a close-up at the perfection existent in a woman’s face (excuse me boys, I didn’t find a way to take good photos of any man yet… just kidding) or whatever it is and besides how artistic it is, how much more light I have on, more freely I can set the photo parameters and more beauty I can find in the subject.

Ok, the camera and also our eyes have limits on how much light can get inside them. But let’s think of going beyond these limits without being hurt. We know that there are many stars in the universe that are hundreds and hundreds times more shiny than our sun, so how much beauty would we encounter in some God designed planet like ours, in another solar system? How many surprises would we encounter at the totally unknown nature created by God?

The heaven that our world preaches don’t attract me either a little bit: I don’t want to be sat on a cloud playing harp during all eternity. But the heaven that I read in the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy, and that I realize inside my mind just by observing our imperfect nature is awesome! According to the Bible our new home created by God will be illuminated by His Glory. Isn’t God’s Glory the shiniest thing in the universe? So, think of all things that God in His good-taste and intelligent creation, illuminated by His glory, spreading out life and beauty over every single thing… that’s the home I dream of. That IS my new home already built with God’s own hands for ME… that’s the home for everyONE who WANTS to have it from God. That’s why I love God… He loved me first...  want US to be at His side… Shouldn’t we be proud?

Friday Night Reflections

It’s funny the things curiosity makes people do. There was a midget who one day was traveling by bus and all of a sudden the bus stopped harshly! There was an accident before them, and the bus stopped to avoid becoming part of that. Everybody, full of that grim curiosity, got out of the bus and gathered around the victim. The midget, with his outstanding height “helping” him a lot, tried to reach the victim through the left, and nothing. Through the right, and nothing. Jumped just trying to have a quick glance, but still nothing. Until he had a great idea! He started to run towards the victim and shouted “Stay off! I’m the victim’s brother!” Wow, it worked so fine until he finally reached the victim and… discovered that that victim was a pitiful donkey that was knocked down by a car that was passing there before them some instants ago.

However, curiosity also makes men do good things. In part, the world development was constructed by the curiosity (the other part I’d say was the selfishness and men’s greed, unfortunately… what about the wars?). Curiosity is what makes me explore God’s two bibles… the one that we know commonly and the other that I also call a bible which is nature. Mainly at this second one I see that God isn’t worried to show to the world that He is God, that He is Creator, that He is Love. He just acts, He just practices, He just… IS. It is through the curiosity that I discovered that we are not just one more piece of His creation, but we are THE PIECE (well, if you don’t understand me, it may be a subject for another post). It is through the curiosity that I discovered that God designed me and coded me in 3 billion letters of my DNA, written in a one and only sequence, where some smallest change would result in me being, someone else entirely, or the most probable, I would be nothing (also this subject maybe another future post).

Well, reflecting on that I could discover one thing: curiosity is a gift of God. It is a fertile soil that not just us but other people, and also God, and the devil as well, may sow whatever they want (don't think the devil is guilty of every sin we fall...). Thus, there are good and bad sows. Ultimately, the good sows will result in a good harvest; the bad ones, a bad harvest. AND the weeds disturb the good grain.
My conclusion: It is my one and only responsibility to irrigate the right soil, to take care of the good sows and to throw off the bad ones. I know it is hard, but whatever it takes, I wish that my life be a good plantation for my Lord to work on.