Category: Beauty of Creation

Romans 1:20                                                              Magnificent

“Ever since God made the world, he has been showing people clearly about himself.  We cannot see God.  But The things that he has made show us clearly what he is like.  We can understand his great power that continues for ever.  We can know that he is the true God.  So there is no reason for anyone to say, ‘We could not know about God’” (EASY).

 

What a magnificent scene, and they are everywhere you look in Arizona’s Grand Canyon, either north rim or south rim.  Probably the word most spoken at Grand Canyon is ”WOW!”  And it is spoken in many languages.  Perhaps even more often than speaking the word, “wow,” is just a speechless stare at the wonder of the surroundings.  The Grand Canyon is beautiful in full sunshine in the middle of the day, but sunrise or sunset, particularly with partly cloudy skies, the place just shows off.  Colors, shadows, and shapes combine to stun the eye.

This is just one of the magnificent scenes God has created on this earth.  The view of Denali on a clear summer night at about 11:30 is breathtaking.  The stalactites and stalagmites of Carlsbad Caverns many feet underground are amazing.  Yosemite Valley experienced within the valley or seen from above is stunning.  Certainly I could go on naming beautiful things, but I’m sure you can think of many others without any reminders.  Still wondering if there is a God?  Take a breath.  Take a drink of fresh water.  He provided both of them for you.

So why did God create such beauty on the earth?  I believe it is for two reasons—no three reasons.  I believe He loves beauty, and He obviously loves us.  I believe He created beauty just for beauty’s sake, and I believe He created it for us to give us enjoyment.  There is one other rather important reason for the magnificence of His creation.  He wanted to demonstrate His power and His awesome intelligence.  How else could this universe with all its intricacies, all the physical laws, the placement of the earth at just the right distance from the sun, the interaction of the many parts of earth to keep us in oxygen, and the interaction of evaporation and precipitation that keeps the rivers flowing.  Just to keep you wondering—why does ice float, and why is it important that it does?

God created man because He wanted fellowship, and He wanted to share His love.  His creation is magnificent, but He went to greater lengths to provide us with eternal life with Him.  He sent His Son to earth as a human to take on Himself all the sins of mankind and to pay for them with His death by crucifixion.  That’s the great gift He made available to us, but like every gift, it must be accepted to be received.  To receive this magnificent gift, ask Jesus for forgiveness of your sins and acknowledge Him as the risen Son of God and as your Lord and Savior.  Do it!  If He made earth this beautiful, how fantastic must heaven be?

 

Genesis 1:24                                                    Attention to Detail

“Then God said, ‘Let the earth produce every sort of animal, each producing offspring of the same kind—livestock, small animals that scurry along the ground, and wild animals.’  And that is what happened” (NLT).

 

And each animal is its own kind.  Just look at the details, the white and brown stripes on the back, the white and dark stripes on the face, and the tiny feet and claws.  Try to imagine the tiny heart that beats to send blood throughout this beautiful animal’s body.  Try to imagine the even tinier arteries and veins that carry the blood throughout the body.  Try to imagine the digestive organs from the sharp teeth through the intestines.  This is certainly not the smallest animal, not even the smallest mammal, but it serves to illustrate the attention to detail that the Creator bestowed upon the smallest of creatures.  If He lavished that much attention and love on this small animal that scurries along the ground, how much more attention and love did He lavish on His greatest creative achievement, the creation of man in the image of God.  We, the ones created in His image are the “apple of His eye,” the ones He loves most, and the ones from whom He expects the most.  It is a great joy to return love to God and to know that He craves and appreciates that love.  Thank you, Lord, for loving me and for craving my love.

Psalm 19:1-6                                     The Two Greatest Symphonies

“The heavens keep telling the wonders of God, and the skies declare what he has done.  Each day informs the following day; each night announces to the next.  They don’t speak a word, and there is never the sound of a voice.  Yet their message reaches all the earth, and it travels around the world.  In the heavens a tent is set up for the sun.  It rises like a bridegroom and gets ready like a hero eager to run a race.  It travels all the way across the sky.  Nothing hides from its heat” (CEV).

 

You don’t believe that there is a God?  Just go outside and look up.  The sun speaks of His glory during the day, and the stars and moon shout it out at night, and in  between, God has provided two special times, sunrise and sunset, the changeover from the glory of the sun to the glory of the stars.  How many times have you seen a magnificent sunrise promising a beautiful day, and how many times have you seen a golden sunset leading to a peaceful night?  God created the sun, the moon and the stars, and He caused the views during the morning, day, evening, and night to frequently differ so that His creation holds our interest as it speaks of His glory.  Remember, He created all of this for us to give us daily enjoyment and daily proof of His love and care.

We can’t hear the stars or the sun or the moon, yet they sing to us without words, just like a symphony orchestra explodes with musical beauty without the need of words.  Listen to Bach and Beethoven speak to your heart without words.  The sun, moon, and stars speak volumes about our creator not only without words, but also without sound.  Sometimes a symphony can be seen, particularly those written by our God.  With today’s technology, visual works have been composed and performed with light, it’s colors, and movement.  They, too, can touch the heart.

Listen to the birds, look at the sky, taste good food, smell a rose, and touch the smooth skin of a baby.  You’ve just experienced almost the greatest symphony ever written, and the composer—God.  He has entitled it “Creation.”  It’s beauty is exceeded only by the other symphony God wrote.  He called this one “Salvation—I Love You.”  Be sure you experience both of these symphonies composed especially for us.

Psalm 104:18                                           God Created and God Cares

“The high mountains belong to the wild goats; the crags are a refuge for the hyrax” (NIV).

 

I don’t know what a hyrax is, but I imagine it may be similar to this ground squirrel.  This particular ground squirrel lives on Mount Lemmon just outside Tucson, Arizona.  We got to watch him for much of an afternoon.  It was obvious that he was at home in this forested area.  He knew where to find food, and he knew how to look out for danger.  He used his tail to maintain balance, and he used his tiny claws to climb straight up and straight down the tree.  He tolerated us as long as we stayed at a distance.  As we approached, he moved away, but he didn’t run off and hide.  It seemed as though he was familiar with people and had no immediate fear of them.  It was quite enjoyable to observe this beautiful creation of God and to recognize the ways in which he was created for this environment.

Sometimes I wonder how closely God watches me.  I know that He created me and gave me all that I need to thrive in my environment.  He has done all of that for all that he created from the ground squirrel to the human being.  I love watching the animals of His creation and seeing how they live and interact with their physical environment.  They seem to enjoy life and live it to the full.  Jesus tells us in John 10:10b, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (NKJV).  All of God’s creation has been created that each living thing may have an abundant life, but Jesus came to point us to a more abundant life, something no other living thing has been provided.  We are special to Him.  After he created mankind, He had finished with His creation, for He had then created the entire reason for creation—to provide someone to fellowship with Him.  Then He gave our spirits eternal life, and to make sure that we could fellowship with Him for eternity, He sent His Son, Jesus, to atone for our sins so that we can come directly into His presence.

That seems like a lot to get from just watching a small animal scamper around living his live on Mount Lemmon.  But that’s one of the reasons that I love to get out in nature.  It brings me closer to Him as I see and absorb the grandeur of His creativity and love.

Ecclesiastes 3:11                               Everything Beutiful in Its Time

“He has made everything beautiful in its time.  He has put thoughts of the forever in man’s mind, yet man cannot understand the work God has done from the beginning to the end” (NLV).

 

I had the opportunity and the privilege of having an extended conversation this past week with a photographer like me, who not only takes great joy in the beauty of God’s creation, but also recognizes the call of the Creator through His creation.  As we talked, we came to realize that we have been blessed to easily find the call of God everywhere in His creation.  I believe that photographers see things in nature around them that are not always obvious to most people.  It is a blessed gift from God, but it is also one that takes developing of the gift.  Part of the developing is involved with the intricacies of the camera, and part is spending time looking at the scene before snapping the shutter.  But to the Christian photographer, the development of the gift of seeing God in every photograph is done through reading the Word and keeping God in mind every time he or she looks through the viewfinder.  I’m sorry if I have made it appear that photographers are special people who have abilities/gifts that most people don’t have.  These abilities are available to everyone who is willing to think of God whenever he or she looks deeply into the magnificent beauty of His creation.

I challenge you to “stop and smell the roses” the next time you walk outside.  Think of God as the Creator as you take in the superb view in front of you.  He has put within the beauty He created a calling that will bring you to Him if you will allow it.  It’s worth it.  More than your eyes will be blessed by what you see.

Genesis 1:1                God Created

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (NKJV).

He created the heavens and the earth with great beauty for our enjoyment and benefit and as a means to draw us to Him.  Enjoy a few examples of His creativity.

 

 

Go ouside, and look around.  Let His creation draw you to Him.

Come back tomorrow for a few more examples of His creativity.

 

 

Proverbs 6:25a                                               Be Careful of Beauty

“Do not lust in your heart after her beauty…” (NIV).

 

Forgive me for taking this verse out of context.  It is in a section of Proverbs warning against adultery, but I would like to apply it to the danger of looking only at the beauty of anything.  I have a fascination for the fighter aircraft of World War II, but I can’t let my enjoyment of them make me forget their purpose—to shoot down enemy aircraft and kill men.  The P51 Mustang is one of the most effective fighter aircraft of WW II, and it has the distinction of having beauty in its functionality.  But it is a machine made to kill, so I have to look beyond the beauty of the airplane whenever I see one.

There are many things in life that have the appearance of great beauty, and many of them are used to glorify God.  But there are also things of apparent great beauty that are used by satan to draw us away from God, and because of that they can’t be called beautiful no matter the appeal to the eye or ear or taste.  I’ll be short and sweet today—Before you become attached to something with a beautiful appearance, be sure you know its purpose.

In God’s creation, there are millions of things of great beauty, and they should be the things that draw our attention because their purpose is to draw us, beckon us to Him.  To God be the glory!

Psalm 19:1-4                                             Creation Calls Us to Him

“The heavens proclaim the glory of God.  The skies display his craftsmanship.  Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make Him known.  They speak without a sound or a word; their voice is never heard.  Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world.  God has made a home in the heavens for the sun” (NLT).

 

The declaration of God by the heavens is remarkable.  Go outside at night and look at the stars and a full moon; then go out at night and see the stars when the moon isn’t shining.  It’s a quite different view.  Without the light of the moon, the stars shine brighter, and there are many more stars visible.  My wife and I are planning to visit a designated “dark sky” area this summer during new moon, and we also plan to stay awake as long as it takes to see the Milky Way.  From the pictures I’ve seen, it’s spectacular.  Other beauties of the night skies include the brilliant light of meteors (falling stars), and the view of the Northern Lights.  How many sunsets have you seen, and no two are alike?  We’ve seen sunsets from Maine to Hawaii and Alaska, and I am always rewarded for taking the time to look, not just glance, at a sunset.

During the daytime, we have the normal sight of the sun—a sight too bright to look squarely at it.  Then there are the days with clouds—partly cloudy to overcast.  Bright white puffy clouds floating across the blue sky pull my eyes heavenward.  It’s enjoyable to watch the sun play hide and seek with the clouds, sometimes making their edges stand out brilliantly.  Even an overcast sky holds my interest with the several types of clouds that cover the sky.

I’ve seen a total eclipse of the sun in Maine, and several partial eclipses of the sun in Arizona.  I’ve also seen total and partial eclipses of the moon in both Pennsylvania and Arizona.  Each of them has held my attention while they were occurring.  Nighttime light in the middle of the afternoon will get and hold your attention.  It certainly gets the attention of animals, as birds go to roost and land animals lie down as if to sleep.

So what is the point of all this discussion of the beauty available for enjoyment in the skies?  Go back to the top of this message and reread Psalm 19, verses one to four.  That’s right, “The heavens proclaim the glory of the Lord.”  Look and see.  Look and learn.  Look and believe in Jesus Christ, the creator.  He created all this beauty for our enjoyment and to draw us to Him.  The next time you look at the sky, spend at least a few minutes thinking about the Creator.  Creation beckons us, and the Creator calls us to Him every day.