For His eyes only

This morning I had to admit that my belt was to tight. I took a deep breath and loosened it. Eating has been so delightful in the last ten days that despite all the steps that I have taken, I am gaining weight.

Early in the morning we set out for the city of Athens, the capital city of Greece.

When we were on the highway, Dr. Weima gave a lecture based on 1 Thessalonians 2:1-12. He pointed out to us how Paul became like an infant, a nursing mother, and a father to the Christians in Thessalonica, who questioned Paul's integrity. He urged many of us who were pastor-wanna-be's to be like Paul: innocent like an infant, caring like a nursing mother, and authoritative in a loving way like a father. This made me think of how God also came to us as an infant, and became to us like a nursing mother, and a father. He calls all of us to go and do likewise.

Shortly after Dr. Weima's lecture, James, our guide, picked up the microphone and explained to us about the history of the Spartans and the Battle of Thermopylae, since we were going to stop nearby the place where this famous battle took place. There was a monument with a statue of the Spartan King Leonidas, below which we gathered and took a group picture.

As we were getting closer and closer to Athens, the snow finally disappeared. Surrounding the highway were green grass and trees. The weather became much warmer.

Our first destination in Athens was the Acropolis, not a cool place to be if you are acrophobic like me. But the ancient buildings at the Acropolis, including the famous Parthenon, were beyond our expectations. I would never see the pictures of the Parthenon in the same way I saw them before. It was much more impressive and grandeur. From there we could also enjoy the beautiful panoramic view of the city of Athens that surrounded the Acropolis.

At about 5pm, we came down from the Acropolis and visited the Acropolis Museum. It was a magnificent museum. All the displays, statues, sculptures, and the ancient artworks we would mindlessly pass without guidance, but James pointed out to us many highlights of the museum and their significance in our human history.

One of the things that he told us to pay a closer attention to was how the sculptures of the Parthenon were so well-crafted, up to the place where human eyes would never reach. To the Athenian sculptors, their works were not for men to see, but for their gods. This was very convicting to me. Often to a church musician the temptation is to be complacent and be satisfied with his or her performance as long as the people are. I questioned myself if I would be willing to carve my notes and phrases to my best ability, so that God would be glorified in the end. This conviction is not just for church musicians, but it reaches also to all who build up a church, since integrity as an infant, a nursing mother, and a father, not just comes from where things are visible, but from places that are invisible.

Chan Jang