Beauty Around Us

Do you ever envy other Christians? Not for their wealth or jobs -we know these cannot last. No, we might envy their churches, their ministries, their calls. I imagine that the missionary in Kosovo might envy his colleague in Hawaii. The pastor of a small church might envy his brother in a large one with an extensive staff team and few financial concerns. Well my sense of envy is sometimes fuelled when I see other churches’ locations: on a town’s high street, near a motorway junction, close to a bus route, near a Bible College. We at Salem Chapel are placed down narrow lanes with minimal parking. Only a handful of people can walk to us, and the comment “We’d come more often, you’re just a bit hard to reach” is not infrequently heard.

Nevertheless, as I cycled home this month, I was struck again by the splendid views. For all our location’s disadvantages, we are weekly reminded of God’s creative genius, His handiwork’s sublime skill, His magnificent, artistic prowess.

For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse… Romans 1:20