CHRIST the ALTOGETHER LOVELY ONE (Song of Sol 5:16): This world, though fallen, still catches us by surprise with its beauty. Who can capture in words the blazing hues of the autumn foliage somehow painted on the leaves by the pale fingers of the frost? But surely there are more beautiful sights than this! Earth is a mere footstool to heaven’s glorious throne. The sight of heaven will, in a moment, dissolve from our hearts any fondness we have had for things terrestrial. Yet even the scenes in heaven have been far surpassed in beauty. When John describes that perfect place, he tells us of an object of such breathtaking splendor that it draws every eye in heaven away from golden street, pearly gate, crystal sea, cherub and seraph and every other glory there. “And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne…stood a Lamb as though it had been slain” (Rev 5:6). The most eye-capturing, soul-thrilling, heart-stopping sight anyone will ever see! —J.B.N.