Thursday, December 31, 2009

God The Great Artisan

Because God is the greatest of all artisans there is much beauty to be found in nature. Indeed all of creation is a masterpiece for us to behold. The world is God's magnum opus. The genius or talent of the artist can only imitate or distort what God has done. Man cannot but make an attempt to capture the beauty of things. The thing in and of itself, i.e. creation, is the most pure work of art in all aesthetics. Hear what our Lord says, "Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these" (Luke 12:27).

Both believers and unbelievers participate in observing the beauty of nature in that "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard" (Psalm 9:1-3). It is only the believer, however, that can fully appreciate and rightly glorify God's handy work.

As I walk through the park by my house and behold the mighty majestic Bald Cypress trees, how tall they are and how green their leaves are, I cannot help but that my thoughts avert to God the originator of them. When I smell a magnolia or a gardenia I think of the Lord who alone can make such aromas. As I hear the sound of running water I think of living waters. And when I see a raven I think of how God seems to have them call out specifically to me. Job observes that nature and animals speak truth to us, "But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee: Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee: and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee" (Job 12:7,8).

When I consider what beauty there is on earth and ponder what heaven must be like I say with the psalmist, "What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?" (Psalm 8:4).

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