Decadent Beauty
There are two kinds of this.
I have seen both.
The beauty of a mountain valley, full of the fragrances of summer.
Ripened fruit, blossoming flowers, apple juice, and homemade jams.
Sweaty men freshing themselves in a lake.
The bleats of shorn sheep fill the air along with the buzzing of insects.
The sky a plain canvas of blue, and the heat of the sun fills everything with warmth.
A group of young friends walk and laugh together.
Run and play together - their love for each other is unspoken but clearly present.
The full expressions of themselves, their personalities, their opinions, their thoughts, their passions.
Their identity's are secure and they feel free to be true to themselves with each other. God's dwelling with them - in the silent moments and in the hearty thrust of debate.
His spirit boils up inside theirs - bursting forth with randomly creative ideas and new visions of life to transform communities.
They receive a glimpse of heaven while God imprints his upon their hearts a determination to bring more of the celestial into the world.
Second kind comes from a powerful man.
His bedroom is kept in state in a old museum in Paris.
He believed he was a God and so he created his chambers to reflect this.
Everything is covered with gold and silk - the ultimate expression of human decadence.
Beautiful it is - but lonely it feels.
