To Encourage You

Isaiah 9:6 “. . . his name shall be called Wonderful . . .”

Have you ever seen photos of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel? Perhaps you’ve had the opportunity to see it in person. What about Mount Rushmore, or Michelangelo’s statue of David? When you see such things, what do you think about?  Does your wonder stop at the work of art itself or do you think about the awesome talent and mind of the artists that have created such works? When you look at something like the Brooklyn Bridge, are you ever amazed at the engineering genius behind such a creation?  It’s enough to boggle the mind. 

But what about when you look at natural things?  When you look at the night sky, the flight of an eagle, or the brilliant colors of so many reef-dwelling fish, does your wonder stop at what you are looking at, or do you see beyond what you are looking at to the One Who could bring such wonders about?  Does your mind turn to the One whose very name is “Wonderful,” as we see in the Scripture above, or do such thoughts never enter your mind? 

I’m struck with how the narrators of the documentaries on the natural world so often stop in their discussions with the wonders of the creation itself. It seems like the producers are blind to the Creator. They never peel back the marvels of what they are witnessing to see the much greater Marvel that stands behind it all. Romans 1:19-23 puts it this way: “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. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.”

It’s not that there isn’t glory in created things, just like there is glory in a masterpiece like “The Messiah” by Handel, and Leonardo da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa.”  But the glory extends beyond such creations to the wonderful talents of the creators themselves.  And so, we are told that “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork” (Psalm 19:1). May God help us to not miss the most glorious Wonder of all, the One whose very name is “Wonderful,” for it is “by him (that) all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:16-17). 

And to think that you can personally know this Jesus Who is so wonderful. Have you met this most wonderful Creator of all?