If we are truly attentive, our vision in the wilderness can perhaps approximate some of Adam’s vision in the Garden: He saw its beauty before he recognized its utility (Genesis 2:9). In his letter to the Roman church, the apostle Paul said that 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 1:20). Without excuse for what? For not believing, understanding, and acknowledging the existence of a divine Creator.
I've often considered that Scripture to be a sort of apologetic for the existence of God--in a general sense. Over the years, however, as I have studied and become more intimate with the natural world as well as with the Bible, I've gotten much more out of Paul's statement by asking myself and people I have interacted with in wild places just exactly what is it that one can "clearly" see about God’s eternal power and divine nature in what He has created.
When Paul speaks of God's "eternal power," I understand him to be saying that in the natural world we will not be able to determine the limits of either time or space. It is clear from even the latest of scientific studies that mankind has indeed not been able to delineate the extent of either time or space.
What does Paul mean by "divine nature" (or "Godhead" in some older translations)? I have come to understand “divine” to mean “that which is superhuman, God-like, supremely good, magnificent, and/or compels a person to worship”).
So what is it within the natural world that would show us God's eternal power and His divine nature?
Among other things, we could observe these:
1. Mysterious light and matter (which still defy human definition and understanding)
2. Seemingly endless time (no clearly apparent beginning or end)3. Seemingly endless space (eternality seen in the microcosm and macrocosm)
4. Preservation of energy (the inexplicable laws of thermodynamics)
5. Astronomical extravagance and magnitude (“Billions and billions” -Sagan)
6. Wonderful life (inexplicable in its essence and origin—and known on earth alone)
7. Fearsome, but essential, death (which is marvelously linked to life)
8. Profound mystery (beyond human understanding)
9. Abiding orderliness (out of seeming chaos)
10. Mathematical precision (to the point of beauty and elegance)
11. Unfailing regularity (making the creation mostly predictable)
12. Sabbath peace (the balance of rest with activity)
13. Inexplicable Love (warming the human soul)
14. Revitalizing stillness (quieting the human soul)
15. Remarkable harmony (comforting the human soul)
16. Unfathomable complexity (defying human simplification)
17. Awesome power (far exceeding our own)
18. Incredibly informed design (absolutely beyond human duplication)
19. Virtually endless variety (unbelievable biodiversity)
20. Amazing adaptability (micro-evolutionary change)
21. Overwhelming beauty (thrilling the heart and soul)
22. Extravagant fruitfulness (offering people more than enough)
23. Sacrificial nurture (animal parents caring for their young)
24. Limitless sensory stimulation (providing “candy” for the senses)
25. Complex interrelationships (life that is dependent upon community)
26. Abundant joy (“even the worm can feel contentment” –Schiller)
27. Models for human work and leisure (structures fundamental for human creativity)
28. Animal fear of people (grieving the human soul)
29. Creation in agony—groaning (awaiting the end of the curse and the rule of loving children of God)
30. The image of God: mankind (An unbridgeable gap between people and the other created things—people alone having the capacity for creative thinking, abstract reasoning, and symbolic language—and having innate morality and the instinct to worship)
So if we are truly observant of the created world around us, these qualities will be displayed before our senses in such abundance and profundity that we will often be compelled to kneel down or even stand up in exuberant praise and worship of our Creator along with every other thing that He has made. The prophet Isaiah, speaking of the coming day when all creation will be restored, describes nature's joy--joy which the children of God will share:
You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands (Isaiah 55:12)
(Other articles and blog posts by Dean can be seen here: http://www.wonderofcreation.org/)
