Beauty and Grandeur

by: Bruce and Carole L. Haines 

“That which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, being understood by what has been made.” (Romans 1:19b-20) 

I was having a conversation with my husband this morning when he launched into a beautiful monologue about how much he sees God in nature. We were on the phone and he could tell things got real quiet on my end. I said, “You know what’s happening, don’t you?” He said, “Yup, you’re taking notes, and this is going to become a post on HisShadowings.” We both laughed and I had him continue to share his heart. Here is a synopsis of what Bruce said. 

“God was under no obligation to make things so beautiful and awe-inspiring in Creation. But He did it anyway. He did it for us. He displays His glory through nature. I was immensely made aware of this fact as I stood in the presence of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park for the first time. Beauty and Grandeur on this scale could not have been random. It was intentional. God knew that this site would stir me to see it, and that’s part of the reason He put it there. This made me feel loved by Him, known by Him, valued by Him.” (Bruce Nevin Haines) 

Part of why I fell so in love with my husband is how deep he is. He is a stargazing man who works for NASA. He loves His work very much. But every weekend for our date, we don’t go to restaurants, we go driving through the countryside of our Tri-state area for hours and walk in its beauty at some randomly chosen spot. God’s Creation speaks volumes to us both, and it is one of the greatest things we have in common. We plan loops to circle us through a beautiful section to see as much as we can on our date day. We have a 6 hour loop planned for this weekend, if the weather permits.  

Maybe God’s creation speaks to you as well. The passage from the Book of Romans used above tells a tale that is not so encouraging to those who reject God’s display of Himself in Nature But it’s the truth, so I’m going to end with the context of that verse. The context in which a verse is spoken is so important to get a clear picture of the meaning. 

¹⁸ For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, ¹⁹ because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. ²⁰ For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, being understood by what has been made, so that they are without excuse. ²¹ For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their reasonings, and their senseless hearts were darkened. ²² Claiming to be wise, they became fools, ²³ and they exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible mankind, of birds, four-footed animals, and crawling creatures.  
(Romans 1:18-23) 

God displays His glory, majesty, character and power in Nature to us. We will give an account as to what we did with what He revealed to us about Himself. Choose now to Glorify the Creator of our world, the one who created us with such amazing intricacy. Let us glorify God together and honor Him as our King and Lord.