Proliferating Beauty

Proliferating Beauty

The city trail I like to walk stretches for miles along a winding bayou. It is surprisingly quiet, safe in daylight, and mostly flat. The views, however, are only average—until the wildflowers begin to bloom. Although they fade quickly in the summer’s heat, they are lovely while they last.

On one early-morning walk, I noticed a sign posted along the trail by the city’s parks department. The headline read, “Proliferating Beauty,” and below it were pictures of several species of wildflowers. The sign noted that the wildflowers that “proliferate beauty” along the bayou are functional, too. They apparently save tax dollars by decreasing the need for mowing, and their roots deter erosion of the soil. So these flowers are not just for show. They’re working, too.

The sign was probably erected to assure me that my tax dollars are being wisely spent. I get that. But I couldn’t stop thinking about “proliferating beauty” as a metaphor for the gospel. It is, beyond doubt, the most beautiful story I know. Its narrative arc is nothing short of breathtaking. And the heart of the story, that “God so loved the world,” never ceases to slay me with its simple power. But the gospel is a hardworking story too. It takes sin by the throat and wrestles it limp and lifeless. It makes strong saints out of weak and wayward men and women. It slowly, quietly, sometimes imperceptibly, is making all things new.

The gospel is not just beautiful. It is deeply powerful, productive, and transformative. I know, because it is transforming me. I’ll admit I was taken at first by its wild beauty. But the longer I’ve lived with it, tarried with it, told and retold it to myself and others, the more I see that its beauty proliferates life everywhere it goes.

Teach me your decrees, O LORD; I will keep them to the end. Give me understanding and I will obey your instructions; I will put them into practice with all my heart. Make me walk along the path of your commands, for that is where my happiness is found. Give me an eagerness for your laws rather than a love for money! Turn my eyes from worthless things, and give me life through your word. . . . I long to obey your commandments! Renew my life with your goodness.

Psalm 119:33-37, 40