Have you ever cast your eyes to the sky and been full of wonder at its vastness?
I certainly have. I live in a sparsely populated part of a vast country—Australia—so horizons that seem to stretch forever are not foreign to me. Where I live, there are very few high-rise buildings to impede my view.
I am spoiled daily with the wonder above my head. Whether I am tilting my chin towards a limitless blue sky framed only by an ocean at earth’s end, or when all I can see is a blackened bush night atmosphere with not one artificial light to compete with a zillion heavenly twinkles.
But recently I realized that being in awe of what is above us isn’t just a personal thing, something I love and cherish.
It’s a human thing.
We yearn to cast our eyes above us.
This realization struck me anew when I visited Europe. The sheer number of spectacular ceilings, the ornate majesty of vertical structures, the artistic works we came across literally had me living each day with a crick in my neck. It seemed to me that human artistic influence in both art and architecture was designed with the idea that we all “look up”.
At the Palace of Versailles, it seemed that every room we entered had a ceiling that was either decorated with some form of architectural flourish or spectacularly marked with the workmanship of a master painter. How did the residents ever get anything done? I would have been looking up all day!
The palace wasn’t the only place we stopped to stare at sights above us. Museums, churches, paintings, monuments, and even whole streets all had us staring at their captivating “up”.
It must be a part of our human condition to look up. Why else would we draw on so many ceilings, or build spectacular spiral columns and towers that reach high into the sky? These things often have no earthy purpose other than to make us lookup. For example, take the dome of St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. I had no understanding of how high it was until I was standing beneath it gazing up, up, up into its ornate center.
I even came across evidence that the influencers of history wanted us to look up. Hanging in the Louvre is a painting called St. John the Baptist, which is thought to be the last painting of Leonardo da Vinci. The man in the painting (John) is literally pointing up to nothing but the frame. I stared at this painting for some time. For me, this was one of the most poignant pieces of art in the museum. I do believe I must have had a smile on my face very similar to the one Da Vinci had painted on John. It was as though we shared a secret—a secret of knowing exactly what he was pointing to, even though the painting showed not a thing but “up”.
Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls forth each of them by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength not one of them is missing. Isaiah 40:26 (NIV)
I do believe we are compelled to look up because we are drawn to the heavens. It’s an innate, deeply spiritual need within us. Even those who do not believe in the heavens are inspired to lift their eyes to the skies. I hope that wherever you live today, dear reader, you will take a moment to look up. Cast your eyes to the sky and contemplate how much wonder hovers above us, both the seen and unseen.
I lift up my eyes to the mountain—where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. Psalm 121:1-2 (NIV)
One of my favourite passages is Psalm 8:3-4.
“When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?” (NIV)
I have been fascinated by “looking up” into the night sky ever since I was a little kid, but the thought that the One who made it all delights in “looking down” is just mind-blowing!
I also love the line in Job about “Loosening the cords or Orion”. To think that God is so powerful he could just strip stars straight out of the sky!
Inspiring, Rose. I too have spent time in European buildings, doing the look-up thing! I love looking at the sky, at the trees which stretch their branches forever higher, at the circling birds and feathered clouds, and of course, the staggering beauty of sunrises and sunsets. It’s a brilliant reminder for us to look to the Lord at all times!