Rick and I, and several young friends of ours, went to Sacramento today to attend a conference with one of our favorite people, John Piper. Time fails to give a fair overview of the exceptional teaching we enjoyed, but one jewel in particular glittered.If you are a parent, or have ever had a youngster in your charge, you've probably had the following experience. Your very small child, perhaps the age of my grandson Caleb, is toddling by your side and you spot a fluttering butterfly some distance ahead. Excited to share this wonder, you point to it, exclaiming, "Look! Look at that!"
Catching your excitement, the youngster fixes his gaze onto your outstretched finger, not aware of its purpose. Smiling, you say, "No, no... LOOK at the butterfly! Not my finger..."
Poor little tyke... he's locked onto your finger! He can't understand that the finger is not the object, it's only a tool pointing to something beyond.
Everyone loves nature! It's amazing, glorious and intriguing. Who hasn't been transfixed by the nighttime stars and planets, marveled at the height and majesty of an ancient redwood tree, felt humbled by the roar of the ocean? Plants, animals, rocks and elements--- too many to number or comprehend.
All fingers, all pointing. Pointing to the amazing, glorious and intriguing God. He has taken great joy in creating nature to point us to Himself.
"God has put this knowledge in their hearts. From the time the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky and all that God made. They can clearly see HIS invisible qualities, HIS eternal power and HIS divine nature. So they have no excuse whatsoever for not knowing God." Romans 1:19 and 20, NLT, (all-caps: mine)
The next time you sigh as a gentle breeze caresses you, or your heart swells watching playful dolphins frolic, lift your gaze from the temporal to the Eternal... He's so much more!
4 comments:
This point really stuck out at me during the conference, too! =)
That was an awesome conference. I gleaned so much from it. I am glad that you guys were able to go as well.
It IS all truly amazing!!! Seriously, how can one wrap "1 Billion light-years away" around one's mind??? It's awesome.
Precisely! He is awesome.
And WAY beyond anything my puny human intellect can comprehend.
Job, at the end of his striving stated, "I know that you can do anything, and no one can stop you. You ask, 'Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorance?' It is I. And I was talking about things I did not understand, things far too wonderful for me." Job 42:2&3
So, I just enjoy Him. In awe.
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