The Wordless Speech of Heaven and Earth

I still remember the first time I pondered how the day-to-day human existence, the things that we take for granted, testify of the truth of Romans 1:20:

"his [God] invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made". 

If I recall correctly, it happened on a day when I was so hungry I felt weak and sick. When I finally tasted the first bite of my food, I exclaimed without much thought: "This is so good! Thank you, God!". Then, I stopped and thought about what I had just said. I was thanking God for the goodness of the food that I was eating, and rightly so. Not only was this food necessary to nourish my body and renew my energy but it was also such an enjoyable experience. Paul was right: God's divine nature and eternal power although invisible can be clearly perceived through the things He created. Since then, I have been more thoughtful about what creation reveals about God and how I can worship God by simply looking around me (I do not mean worshiping the creation for that is idolatry and it dishonors God. I mean seeing the Character of God through what he made and worshiping Him for it). 

David says in Psalm 19:

"The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world". (Psalm 19:1-4). 

So, what does creation teach us about Who God is?

Here are 3 things that I believe creation teaches about God. Of course, this is not an exhaustive list. I encourage you to ponder this as well and feel free to message me or comment below with your thoughts. A good safeguard is to remember that the Bible is the primary, authoritative, and ultimate source to learn about who God is; so whatever we perceive about God through creation, we need to ensure the Scriptures confirm it. Here are my thoughts:

1. He is Kind and Good

“The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made." (Psalm 145:9)

When you look at nature and consider the created things in Genesis 1, the bodies of water, the land, the sky, the moon, the sun, the stars, the various animals and plants, can you see God’s Goodness and Kindness? Everything in God’s creation serves a purpose (yes even cockroaches). The obvious examples are food (animals, plants) and water. They are necessary to sustain life on earth, especially human life. God could have made them to just be some fuel that humans intake to survive but He chose to infuse them with pleasure out of the goodness of His heart.

The next time you catch the sun setting on a lake and contemplate the hues of orange and yellow in the sky or the reflection of trees in the water, be sure to remember that God did not have to make nature so beautiful to behold. The next time you take pictures of the stunning spring flowers or the reddish-orange trees in fall, remember that God did not have to give you these breathtaking views. Behold the Good God!

2. He is Righteous

“The heavens declare his righteousness, for God himself is judge!” (Psalm 50:6)

The book of Proverbs teaches us that God created the world through wisdom. He weaved the laws of the universe with wisdom (Proverbs 3;19 8:1-4, 22-31). A wise and older saint shared these quotes with a group of us. I believe they capture very well this thought: “If we want to live healthy, well-balanced lives, we had better know the laws and ordinances by which God has structured creation…To be wise is to know reality and then accommodate yourself to it… Folly is a stubborn swimming against the stream of the universe . . . spitting into the wind . . . coloring outside the lines.” (Chuck Colson in “How now shall we live?”). 

Beginning with the Fear of God, the way of Wisdom is the way of Righteousness according to Proverbs: it is justice, equity, honoring parents, refraining from wrongdoing and evil but doing good, sexual purity, faithfulness, integrity, work ethics, generosity, humility, accepting correction, vigilance, etc. We can testify of that in our lived experiences, can’t we? See the destruction, pain, grief, broken relationships, and evil that ravage societies because mankind is constantly ‘swimming against the stream of the universe’. See the effect of Adam and Eve’s unrighteousness on creation thousands of years later?

Who but an All-Righteous God would weave His handiwork with righteousness? He plainly tells us through what he made and how he made it that he hates unrighteousness and whoever would practice it will be crushed under the weight of their own evil.

Here is the good news: God knows that no man is righteous so he freely provided Righteousness to cover us: Jesus Christ. Whoever believes in Christ is not only redeemed from the sure eternal death that results from ‘swimming against the stream of the universe’ (Romans 6:23), but is also given God’s Spirit Himself who transforms our hearts, guides, teaches, and empowers us to walk in Righteousness and in the Fear of God (Ephesians 1:13; Galatians 5:16-24). Behold the Righteous God!

3. He is a Person and Personal

“I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” (Psalm 139:14).

Now onto the crown of creation: mankind. Mankind is God’s masterpiece made in his own image as the bible tells us. Though this image has been marred by sin since the Fall, we still do display the Glory of God. Though God is transcendent, we nevertheless are shadows of Him, representations of Him on earth.

Since the universe had a beginning (as agreed upon even within the Science Community, atheists included), whatever or whoever started it made the decision to do so. For those who claim that the origin of the universe is simply a force or energy, I would ask: since when does energy or forces make decisions? How can an energy have the Will to create? How can energy bring about the existence of persons with minds, consciences and self-awareness, wills, desires, emotions, etc.?

No, what started the universe is a Person and this Person has revealed himself to us through what he made and through His Word. He skillfully and carefully weaves each human being with the most complex internal and external systems that we have desperately tried to replicate for decades. There is no one like him. Behold the Awesome Creator!

O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!" (Psalm 8:9).