Creation’s Applause

Psalm 19:1-6

Their voice is never heard. Yet their message has gone throughout the earth. (Psalm 19:3-4)

NICOLAS HERMAN WAS powerfully changed by a tree. The tree itself didn’t change him, of course, but Nicolas’s perspective of it did. He saw its barrenness in the dead of winter, and it suddenly dawned on him that the tree would be resurrected into beautiful greenery in a matter of a few short weeks. From that realization he became persuaded of the reality of God’s grace, providence, and promises of new life. No arguments or sermons were needed in that moment. He was transformed by a scene. Today we know Nicolas Herman for the fruit he bore as a monk and writer called Brother Lawrence.

Beauty carries powerful messages, whether we can articulate those messages or not. The only explanation for that power is that it reflects the nature of the Creator. It is inspirational and persuasive because that is the essence of God’s work. He is an artist, and no artist creates a masterpiece for it to be hidden behind a veil. He wants to share his expression, and he does—“day after day,” Psalm 19:2 tells us. There is deep fellowship between the Creator and the person who looks at his artistry with wonder and awe.

Tragically, multitudes of people carry out their daily lives without noticing the transcendent beauty of God’s work. They walk around in the universe’s most magnificent museum without recognizing the masterpieces that surround them. Created in God’s image to see his glory and carry it within us, we instead become absorbed in the mundane trivialities of our own obligations and responsibilities. Meanwhile, the heavens proclaim his glory relentlessly.

Don’t be one of the billions who go through life without noticing the power of God’s artistry. Taste and see that he is good—and brilliantly creative, from the intricacies seen through the microscopes of molecular biologists to the majesty seen through the telescopes of astrophysicists, from the mysteries of quantum physics to the complexities of space and time. Enter into a conversation with the Artist, and draw others into it too. Let your life and words join creation’s applause.

{Father, the world marvels at your creation without knowing their Creator. This cannot be. How can my life point to your artistry? What can I say to bring you applause? Help me see, and help me help others see. Amen.