God's Glory in Plain Sight

“I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."  The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.” (Romans 1:16-20 NIV)

Last night, from my front porch, I watched a red globe descend and then disappear beyond the horizon.  This morning, as I write, I am watching from a similar vantage point a pale yellow globe descend along the same path.  The sun and moon in all their beauty point to the glory of their Creator—at least they do to me.

For many, however, while acknowledging the beauty of creation, they will refuse to acknowledge the Creator.  They will instead use a scientific narrative to explain all that we see around us, assuming that narrative eliminates any competing narrative of a Creator.  So they will often scoff at people like me who worship the Creator rather than the created.  They will say we are delusional or emotionally needy, that we are the creators of the Creator because of our need to look to something beyond ourselves.  

But here Paul warns them they will be without excuse before the Creator whose existence they deny.  For the creation they believe they can explain he says clearly demonstrates the existence and power of the Creator.  In fact, he says the evidence is not hidden, but is in plain sight.  

I have talked with many skeptics and atheists and it seems that one thing hangs them up: There is a scientific explanation for all of creation. For example, the sun and moon rise and set because science has revealed it is due to their orbits in combination with the orbit of the earth.  And their beautiful colors can be explained as well.  Yet, I don’t get it.  Does the fact that I can explain the techniques and processes an artist used to create his work diminish my appreciation for him as an artist or even lead me to deny he exists?  Do I cease to marvel at the work of Michelangelo or question his existence just because I can explain how the work was created?  That to me is delusional.  Regardless of the biological or geological processes that can explain the creation around us, isn’t it obvious that there is a Creator, a Divine Artist, behind all that we see?  Could what we see around us possibly be the sole result of random processes over billions of years?  Last night and this morning, I was again reminded the answer is in plain sight.

Today, take a good look around you.  God has made His glory evident in all that He has created.  It’s in plain sight.

© Jim Musser 2015