Sunsets Can Be Beautiful
Living out in the country has helped me to discover and rediscover some things about the world around me. I’ve learned that some frogs sound a great deal like buzzards. Weeds will trick you into believing that they don’t like growing in gardens, but that is a trick. I’ve rediscovered the beauty of God’s earth, which truly is a marvelous gift for us to enjoy. I love the stars at night when they are not out-shined by the lights of the city. And I especially enjoy the radiant horizons as the sun sets in the western sky. It is on this picture that I wish to focus for a few moments.
What makes a sunset beautiful? I know there is something about the way the light shines through the gases in the atmosphere that makes the beautiful colors. But on a slightly deeper level, what makes them beautiful?
For
me, the beauty of a sunset is determined in part by what I did with the day
that preceded it. I’ve seen some
gorgeous sunsets that I couldn’t fully enjoy because I knew I hadn’t given my
all during the day. On
the other hand, I have seen sunsets that were awe-inspiring because I could say
without a doubt that in that day I had done all I could. So, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing
that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward” (
Some
intrinsically beautiful sunsets have been uninspiring to me because my attitude
towards others was not what it should have been. “…do not let the sun
go down on your anger” (Eph
In a sunset I see the end of one day and the glimpse of the next. I see the hope of rest from labor, which can only be hoped for by one who has been laboring. One day, the sun will set for the last time on each of our lives, and the beauty of that sunset will be decided by what we did with the life we lived before it. How brilliant will your final sunset be?
----Darrell Powell