Darrow Miller and Friends

Sabbatical Reflections: Portals to Beauty (Part 1 of 3)

Have you ever looked at a beautiful sunset? I don’t mean just “watched it set,” but did you really see it? Have you seen it in your soul? A sunset is not merely beautiful, it is a portal to Beauty! So, too, is the star filled sky, the form of a pregnant woman, Beethoven’s 5th Symphony, and the absolute wonder of a DNA molecule. While these are all beautiful to see with the eye or hear with the ear, and should instill awe in any humble heart, they are also the pathway to the One who is Beauty.

You see, there is a Transcendent Beauty. He is the Creator, the one who gave us the capacity to sense beauty and experience wonder. He is the one who calls us to a humble heart, to contemplate and to seek its source.

The proud heart does not walk through the Portal to Beauty.  The meek heart says “thank you” and longs to know and worship this Creator-Artist.

For one who pauses at the gateway, the siren song of the Beautiful One will be heard:  “Enter here!”  “Come and know me!” “Enter into communion.”  Then once the step through the portal is taken, one hears (as Aslan, the Christ figure in C.S. Lewis’s Narnia Chronicles once said) the Lord of Lords calling “come further up and further in” to the Beauty. Abandon pride and the world of illusion you yourself have created. Embrace reality – Truth, Beauty and Goodness – God’s wondrous gift to you.

-Darrow L. Miller

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About 
Darrow is co-founder of the Disciple Nations Alliance and a featured author and teacher. For over 30 years, Darrow has been a popular conference speaker on topics that include Christianity and culture, apologetics, worldview, poverty, and the dignity of women. From 1981 to 2007 Darrow served with Food for the Hungry International (now FH association), and from 1994 as Vice President. Before joining FH, Darrow spent three years on staff at L’Abri Fellowship in Switzerland where he was discipled by Francis Schaeffer. He also served as a student pastor at Northern Arizona University and two years as a pastor of Sherman Street Fellowship in urban Denver, CO. In addition to earning his Master’s degree in Adult Education from Arizona State University, Darrow pursued graduate studies in philosophy, theology, Christian apologetics, biblical studies, and missions in the United States, Israel, and Switzerland. Darrow has authored numerous studies, articles, Bible studies and books, including Discipling Nations: The Power of Truth to Transform Culture (YWAM Publishing, 1998), Nurturing the Nations: Reclaiming the Dignity of Women for Building Healthy Cultures (InterVarsity Press, 2008), LifeWork: A Biblical Theology for What You Do Every Day (YWAM, 2009), Rethinking Social Justice: Restoring Biblical Compassion (YWAM, 2015), and more. These resources along with links to free e-books, podcasts, online training programs and more can be found at Disciple Nations Alliance (https://disciplenations.org).

1 Comment

  1. Fernando Guarany Jr

    July 16, 2009 - 9:06 pm

    Thanks for this, Darrow! Very meaningful and true.
    Just finished translating Schaeffer’s Art and the Bible and Rookmaaker’s Art Needs no Justification.

    God bless, my friend.

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