Читать книгу Beyond the Horizon - Harry A. Renfree - Страница 64

February 27

Have you gone steeplechasing recently? The question is in reference to the spiritual kind. There is an actual organized sport called “steeple chasing” that involves horse and rider racing over a set turf course, jumping over barriers and water hazards along the way. Originally, steeplechasing involved real church steeples, with people on horseback racing across open fields and farmlands and the steeples of the churches used as markers for the races.

Someone has called steeples “fingers pointed toward heaven,” and it is significant that from the earliest times, church builders called for this strong vertical feature. As well as giving monumental character to a church building, many steeples contain the church bell that calls the congregation to worship and to prayer. In days gone by, especially in rural areas, the steeple was often the highest point in a community and signified the spiritual home of a community.

Nowadays, church steeples in an urban setting are likely to be dwarfed by the more modern commercial buildings, especially the skyscrapers. That’s a pity and suggests that the interests of commerce, sports, and pleasure have become all important in our society. And all the while our culture is on the downward slide. Perhaps it’s time for the world to look again to the steeple. As the writer of the book of Hebrews puts it: “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another” (Hebrews 10:25a).

Time again for real “steeplechasing.”