The rest of the world must think us northerners a little loony. We carve and sculpt ice! My wife and I have seen the ice sculptures in Rice Park, St. Paul. They are amazing! What talented folks can do with a block of ice that was recently a part of local lake! Eagles, people, cars, and every other shape imaginable are carved out of ice. A few years back, an entire palace of ice was built!
I, of course, am not talented to do this sort of thing. Further, even if I was, I don’t think that I would bother because I’m into things that last longer. An ice sculpture will melt in the spring and maybe spring will come early this year. I wouldn’t need marble but for such a big expenditure of time and effort I would want my sculpture to last at least a couple of seasons – without paying a refrigeration fee.
God, however, like these ice-artists, appears to have no issues with creating beauty with a short life span. In fact, most things in nature have a short “shelf-life.” Never fear, there will be more next year. Think of that the next time you swat a mosquito. Stop! Take a quick glance at its beauty, before you… Is that why some Buddhists brush the mosquito away instead of prematurely ending its already brief existence? No I’m not advocating what you might think I am… Still, I am suggesting that there is beauty all around us that God has made only for a ‘moment’.
You, on the other hand, have been made to last forever. God loved you so much that he gave his one and only Son, so if you believe in him, you’ll live forever. (Cf. Gospel of John 3:16) Wow. Now that’s a long time.
