true beauty

A book I read recently keeps haunting my thoughts. An Arrow Pointing to Heaven is one of the most powerful books I have ever read. It's a biography of Rich Mullins written by James Bryan Smith.

Some excerps (mostly because I want somewhere I can read my favorite parts, and of course, share the beauty) :

"Jesus of Nazareth ruined Rich Mullins' life. And out of the ruins He created a ragamuffin of startling originality; no human being who has crossed my path even remotely resembles him."

"Rich Mullins stood upon a hill among castle ruins in Ireland. His friend and photographer, Ben Pearson, was standing below. Ben called out, "Lift up your arms," and Rich raised his arms to shoulder level as if making a cross and said, "You mean, like Jesus?" Ben yelled up, "No, lower." Rich dropped his arms a little, and suddenly Ben saw something he did not expect. From a distance Rich looked like an arrow pointing toward the sky. Ben yelled, "You look like an arrow, man. An arrow pointing in the right direction." He snapped the picture. It would be the final picture of the last photo shoot for Rich and Ben."

"I am a Christian because I have seen the love of God lived out in the lives of people who know Him...I am a Christian, not because someone explained the nuts and bolts of Christianity to me, but because there were people who were willing to be nuts and bolts."