Eric's Beijing Diary

Found a poem by one of my favorite Tang Dynasty poets that expresses the sentiment I was trying to convey last summer:

Sitting Alone in Face of Mount Jingtang

By Li Bai

All birds have flown away, so high;

A lonely cloud drifts on, so free.

Gazing on Mount Jingtang, nor I

Am tired of him, nor he of me.

Gazing at mountains. That's it. Actually, I do like to climb mountains, too. I'm just not as crazy about it as some people. I guess I would say that I like being in the mountains more than I like being on the very tip top of them. Mountains are not objects of worship for me. But the God who created them is. It's sorta like looking at the stars, I guess. But not exactly the same. There is a little difference. It's the difference between God's glory and God's handiwork, as Psalm 19 says: "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows His handiwork." There's a solemn comfort in gazing at God's handiwork and knowing that the same God who created those mountains can build my life on a secure foundation that will not be alarmed by the rain, floods and winds that are part of any earthly sojourn.