GLORY AND BEAUTY
All things counter, original, spare, strange;
Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how?)
With swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim;
He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change:
Praise him.
– Gerard Manley Hopkins
A WORLD RE-VISUALIZED
Martha looks different today. Probably we should be talking about the reason for her visit, her high blood pressure. But I cannot get over it. I have known her for years, yet today there is something younger- and brighter-looking about the elderly widow that I cannot quite put my finger on as I settle down into a chair next to her. New great-grandchild or romantic interest, I wonder?
Then, just as I am about to compliment her and inquire further, I detect in her pupils the prismatic flashes from lens implants, and it dawns on me that for the first time since I have known her, she is not wearing glasses.
“You had your cataract surgery!” I exclaim.
She beams in response. “I can hardly believe it. It’s not just that I can see better to read or drive; it’s that I had somehow forgotten how colorful the world is, and it’s like I am experiencing it for the first time. I really had lost the lovely blue of the sky and didn’t even realize it.”
Then she adds with mock disgust: “Of course, the first thing I noticed was all my wrinkles!”
CRACKING THE CODE
In the last post I asserted that the natural world is a medium for divine communication with humanity. But what is the content of that declaration? When decoded, what does the message of creation actually say? Psalm 19 informs us:
“The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.”
The first bit of data transmitted from nature concerns “the glory of God.”
Glory? Do you find that disappointing? How can such an abstract quality help us face life’s thorny problems? What, after all, is glory?
Glory is what makes tears well up in our eyes when the wedding processional swells to a climax and the bride walks down the aisle. Glory is why we find ourselves leaping to our feet after a virtuoso performance in the concert hall or a magnificent play on the athletic field. Glory stops us in our tracks as we plod groggily to the shower in the morning and then catch sight of a rosy glow in the eastern sky. Glory gives us pause when against our natural fears we tarry a moment on the porch before rushing inside during a thunderstorm. Glory makes life worthwhile.
Glory is a quality which elicits praise, even fear. Psalm 29, another song of David’s, lists specific natural wonders that shine forth God’s glory, reaching a climax in verse 9 as the worshiper actually enters the temple to behold (figuratively speaking) God’s majesty. The response to this experience is a cry seemingly torn from the lips – an irrepressible, single word of worship: “Glory!”
Jesus spoke to the property of glory to evoke worship and also hinted at the role of nature in revealing God’s glory when He rebuked the Pharisees at His Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem in Luke 19:40.
“I tell you, if these [disciples] become silent, the stones will cry out!”
Here in Christ was a glory so resplendent that it simply had to be acknowledged, and if man was going to clam up, then inanimate matter would take up the call!
To grasp some of the glory of God, we can look to – or in some ways look “through” – the visible things around us to the ultimate reality underneath, the defining reality of God Himself. Nature projects glory and beauty because God embodies these qualities.
I don’t mean to suggest that he designed creation like a connect-the-dot puzzle that shows a picture in the end. God is infinitely glorious and powerful, and thus this is the only kind of creation he would make.
THE COSMIC CANVAS
The greatness of man’s artistic achievements rests on qualities like creativity, technical skill, profundity, and prolific output. With that in mind, consider God’s portfolio. What an artistic genius he must be, combining efficiency with extravagance, and mixing imagination with technical skill (we are going to explore all these qualities in upcoming posts). Truly the realm of nature presents a monumental opus that reflects the qualities of the artist behind it, ranging from the stunningly grand to the brilliantly subtle.
Humans have always been tempted to worship the creation because it is so impressive. We laugh at frolicking dolphins and cringe at snapping sharks. How should we react to the composer of birdsong and the painter of sunsets? What must it be to behold his face? Gather up all the fear, rapture, and peace that you have ever experienced in nature. Now multiply to infinity – to greater heights of wonder through an eternity of lifetimes – and you may begin to scratch the surface of what it is to see God himself.
Isn’t it strange that Martha, the patient with recently-removed cataracts, did not regard her vision as just a tool to perform essential functions? Her surgery not only restored function, but also revived the experience of beauty and delight. And like her restored eyes, our bristling senses speak to us in a host of ways about the desirability of the artist behind nature.
Our eyes can enjoy the mesmerizing pageantry of clouds; our ears appreciate the awe-inspiring boom of thunder; our noses delight in the sweetness of roses – and of course the tantalizing whiffs of food. Speaking of food, do I even need to mention the sense of taste – a never-ending mélange that delights the palate? Our skin, the largest organ in the body, weighing in at around fifteen pounds, can detect the exquisite wispiness of a feather and the pleasure – equally, yet differently – of a gentle caress or a firm hug.
We were designed not simply to respond pragmatically to our environments, but also to relish them. When we smell, see, or taste something delightful, we are drawn to something greater than ourselves, even if unwittingly. God is speaking to us about something greater than survival, or even life itself. He is revealing the beauty found in him alone.
If it is worth our money to travel to roaring waterfalls, what must it be like to soak in the loveliness of God? Jonathan Edwards affirms: “The glorious excellencies and beauty of God will be what will forever entertain the minds of the saints.” Shouldn’t the glory of our world inspire us to seek the creator more earnestly – to study our Bibles and search out others who know him better?
The Apostle John tells us of a transformative quality of God’s beauty: “We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.” (I John 3:3) Someday the very act of beholding God’s consummate glory will literally alter believers, remaking them in some way like Jesus Christ. In this life we can get a foretaste of that glory by savoring the splendor around us, while recognizing that it is just a mirror.
Taste and see that he is good.
Dr. Bill Maynard