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By Chuck Colson|Published Date: January 30, 2012
Francis Schaeffer emphasize the beauty of God – a message Tom Pratt, former PF president, understood very well, as Chuck recalls in the BreakPoint archive remembering Francis Schaeffer.
When you walk into the office of Tom Pratt, the president of Prison Fellowship, immediately you sense that this is no ordinary office. There’s no imposing, executive-style desk. Instead the room is centered on a round table, small enough for easy conversation. On one side is a reading stand with a high perch; on the other, a reclining chaise.
If you ask Tom about the unusual design, you discover that everything is carefully thought out. The round table sends a message that there is no hierarchy in the world of ideas. The perch and the chaise give opportunities for altering one’s physical position, which refreshes the mind and stimulates creativity.
It’s rare to find an executive who has such a sensitive eye for artistic design. And office decor really is a form of art. Art is any expression of form and beauty that elevates and inspires.
Some people say they’re not interested in art. What they mean is they don’t like to visit art museums and gaze at paintings. But the same people may sew their own clothes, cook gourmet meals, or renovate their homes.
Our lives are permeated with art.
When you think back through history, most cultures never had museums. For the ancient Hebrews or the South American Indians, art was embedded in the staples of ordinary life-in the pottery they made, the blankets they wove, the beads they strung.
This is really a more Biblical view of art, says Gene Veith in State of the Arts. A sense of beauty ought to be expressed in everything we do.
After all, the first artist was God Himself. It was God who created the silvery beauty of the moon, the delicate netting of a grasshopper wing, the golden brown of a friend’s eyes.
When God made the world, He cared enough to make it beautiful. And if God cared, so should we. We are made in His image, and a sense of beauty is part of our nature.
It’s also part of the message we preach-whether we mean to or not. In Pollution and the Death of Man, Francis Schaeffer says he was once invited to lecture at a Christian school. The building was ugly and stark, staked out on bare ground. In sharp contrast a nearby bohemian community was surrounded by a rich profusion of trees and vines. What message were these Christians conveying about the God they worshipped?
There are times, Schaeffer concludes, when planting a tree can be a form of evangelism.
You see, our lives are meant to be a visible representation of the invisible God. If our schools or offices are dull and ugly-if they are filled with impersonal, mass-produced products-what an impoverished image of God we project.
When Christians hear words like duty, we think of going to church, reading the Bible, giving money to Christian ministries. But a biblical concept of duty is much broader: We are called to do nothing less than live out the full image of God-so that the world might come to know the God who made the roses and the sunsets.
A God of beauty.Next steps
What opportunities do you have today to bring the God of beauty into your everyday experience? See if you can strike up a conversation with someone today about beauty – What is it? Why do we have this idea of beauty? How can we contribute to the beauty of the world? Look for an opportunity to inject Psalm 27:4 into the conversation: the God of beauty!
Francis Schaeffer was one of the great defenders of the faith of the previous generation. You can order this Trilogy of his most seminal works and discover the power of a reasonable faith all over again. You might also benefit from reading the article, “Truth with Love: The Apologetics of Francis Schaeffer,” by Bing Davis.
Related posts:
Dr. Francis Schaeffer – Extra – Interview – Part 2 Francis Schaeffer had a big impact on me in the late 1970′s and I have been enjoying his books and films ever since. Here is great video clip of an interview and below is a fine article about him. Francis Schaeffer 1912-1984 Christian Theologian, Philosopher, […]
E P I S O D E 1 0 How Should We Then Live 10#1 FINAL CHOICES I. Authoritarianism the Only Humanistic Social Option One man or an elite giving authoritative arbitrary absolutes. A. Society is sole absolute in absence of other absolutes. B. But society has to be led by an elite: John Kenneth […]
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E P I S O D E 7 How Should We Then Live 7#1 I am thrilled to get this film series with you. I saw it first in 1979 and it had such a big impact on me. Today’s episode is where we see modern humanist man act on his belief that we live […]
Dr. Francis Schaeffer – Extra – Interview – Part 2 Francis Schaeffer had a big impact on me in the late 1970′s and I have been enjoying his books and films ever since. Here is great video clip of an interview and below is a fine article about him. Francis Schaeffer 1912-1984 Christian Theologian, Philosopher, […]
E P I S O D E 6 How Should We Then Live 6#1 I am sharing with you a film series that I saw in 1979. In this film Francis Schaeffer asserted that was a shift in Modern Science. A. Change in conviction from earlier modern scientists.B. From an open to a closed natural system: […]
E P I S O D E 5 How Should We Then Live 5-1 I was impacted by this film series by Francis Schaeffer back in the 1970′s and I wanted to share it with you. Francis Schaeffer noted, “Reformation Did Not Bring Perfection. But gradually on basis of biblical teaching there was a unique improvement. A. […]
How Should We Then Live 4-1 I was impacted by this film series by Francis Schaeffer back in the 1970′s and I wanted to share it with you. Schaeffer makes three key points concerning the Reformation: “1. Erasmian Christian humanism rejected by Farel. 2. Bible gives needed answers not only as to how to be right with […]
How Should We Then Live 3-1 I was impacted by this film series by Francis Schaeffer back in the 1970′s and I wanted to share it with you. Schaeffer really shows why we have so many problems today with this excellent episode. He noted, “Could have gone either way—with emphasis on real people living in […]
How Should We Then Live 2-1 I was impacted by this film series by Francis Schaeffer back in the 1970′s and I wanted to share it with you. Schaeffer points out that during this time period unfortunately we have the “Church’s deviation from early church’s teaching in regard to authority and the approach to God.” […]
How Should We Then Live 1-1 Today I am starting a series that really had a big impact on my life back in the 1970′s when I first saw it. There are ten parts and today is the first. Francis Schaeffer takes a look at Rome and why it fell. It fell because of inward […]
 Click here to purchase Chuck Colson and Nancy Pearcey’s How Now Shall We Live?, dedicated to Francis Schaeffer.
Click here for a list of Francis Schaeffer’s greatest works, from the Colson Center store!
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