Bringing Out the Finest China

After watching the opening cermonies of the Beijing Olympics, I suppose the cynic could say that the awesome display of artistry and grandeur was merely China putting on its best face, hiding a truer China of oppression, poverty and uniformity.

But what if what we saw on 08.08.08 was actually the truer China after all? What if the breathtaking magnitude and splendor of the opening ceremony -- the rising of the curtain on what has already proven to be a most memorable Olympic Games -- was the China God had in mind in the first place? I don't usually delve into matters of religion in this blog, but indulge me for just this: in the book of Revelation in the Bible, it says of the New Jerusalem that "the kings of the earth will bring their splendour into it." We tend to think of heaven as a nondescript existence of golden streets and harps. I believe that nothing could be further from the truth. I believe that heaven is the perfect version of all that is splendid and beautiful about the universe we know and have known.

The reason I fought back tears during that performance is that I felt I was getting a taste of the beauty of heaven. And we ain't seen nothin' yet.



...and welcome to Water Cooler Wednesday!