How to clear the air …

Los Angeles will never be known for having the cleanest, clearest air of most metropolitan areas, but it is much cleaner and clearer than it used to be.

Some years ago I had a flight into Los Angeles. Prior to arriving in the city, I enjoyed looking out the airplane window at the beauty of the skies and just taking in the majesty of God’s creation. Then came the descent into Los Angeles.

The scene changed dramatically!

From the crisp beauty of the blue skies, we gradually entered into air so dirty it was hard to see much of the city with sharp clarity. There was nothing beautiful or enticing about the new scenery into which the airplane was descending. I felt my mood change from one of worship when taking in the beauty of God’s handiwork, to a concern about having to breathe what was outside the window.

The ugly brown haze hanging over the city like a heavy, wet blanket did not make arriving at my destination very enticing. While my work and relationships waited for me amid the dinge of the concrete sprawl, I longed to be back up among the wonder of beauty where everything seemed so peaceful.

Life is often like that flight.

Sometimes we find ourselves landing in environments that have been messed up by humanity, places that have been polluted and abused by people pursuing their own agendas at the expense of those around them. Yet just beyond the discouraging scenes of wastefulness remains the beauty of God’s work. It still surrounds us, even when we can’t see it. Yet knowing it is there feeds our hope of something better just beyond the horizon, and just ahead sometime in our future.

The Apostle Paul encourages us to keep our thoughts on the more beautiful things. Look at what he wrote in Philippians 4:8-9, “And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me — everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.”

Whatever situation or environment we find ourselves in, we can experience the purity and beauty of God’s work, no matter the scenery around us. if our thoughts are fixed on Him.

Scotty