Truth in a Flower
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How can anyone, looking at something as beautiful and complex as a
single flower, not know that there is a God and that He is Good?
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“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the expanse 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.”
Psalm 19:1-3
“For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his 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. So they are without excuse.”
Romans 1:19-20
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Here's a wonderful narrative on this subject. I have given credit to the author below.
One of the reasons why God delights in creation is because creation communicates God’s glory (Psalm 19:1-2, Romans 1:19-23).
The Father delights in His glory reflected in His Son and the Son delights in the glory of the Father in their fellowship together and such has been the case forever in eternity past (John 1:1; Proverbs 8:30-31). The natural order is the creative work of the Father and the Son together (John 1:3; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Colossians 1:16).
“...yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.” 1 Corinthians 8:6
Therefore, it reflects and expresses the glory and magnificence they share together. Their shared glory is the overflow of the delight they have in each other’s perfections so creation is a reflection, expression and by-product of the over-flowingly delightful life they share.
“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the expanse 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.” Psalm 19:1-3
“For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his 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. So they are without excuse.” Romans 1:19-20
Psalm 19 tells us that the heavens make proclamation about the glory and beauty of God. Romans 1 further makes the point that what has been made makes plain the invisible attributes of God. There is an articulation of the attributes of God in the created order that Paul says is made plain by God and clearly perceived by humans. They unfailingly communicate His glory to humans and open windows of understanding into the discovery of His heart.
I believe that various parts of creation actually communicate and symbolize distinct attributes of God and help us intuit truth about God. For example there is a knowledge that “day to day” and “night to night” makes known. There is a specific revelation contained in the day-to-day-ness of the way our world works that I believe speaks to us about the faithfulness, constancy and eternality of God. Further in Psalm 19 (verse 6), we are told that the sun is like a strong man rejoicing to run His course. I believe the sun symbolizes to us both the strength and gladness of God.
Above all it tells us that He is simply beautiful. All of creation tells of His beauty, sings of His loveliness and articulates His elegance. It portrays the grace of His form, the immensity of His being, the harmonious coalescence of His diverse attributes. Who could look at the created order (uncorrupted by humanity) and conclude that its maker is not the master of all beauty.
On the cosmic level with pulsars and nebulae, on the human level with waterfalls, mountains and open skies, to the microscopic level of cellular structure and DNA architecture we are unmistakably informed that there is a creator and His loveliness is without limit and beyond searching out.
Richard Liantonio
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