What do
you think of when you see the beauty of nature?
Jim and I
took an adventure last summer when we toured many of the spectacular national
parks. Breathtaking beauty unique to that part of our country! I don’t know that I’ve always loved the
outdoors as much as I do now. I think
it’s my age, but I also think it’s faith.
Now when I see a beautiful sunset, the ocean, or birds in flight, a
butterfly land on a flower, or the grandeur of a mountain, my heart fills with
joy and I immediately begin to talk to Jesus, thanking Him and telling Him how
much His handiwork blesses my heart, and magnifies His great glory.
The
Apostle Paul in Colossians 1:15-17, says this about Jesus:
He is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn over all creation. For by
Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible
and invisible. . . . All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all
things hold together.
That’s
why my thoughts turn to Jesus when I see the beauty of creation. The Bible says
He is the agent through whom heaven and earth were created. He is its author, its artist, its sustainer,
and all that He has made highlights His majesty.
What do
you think of when the beauty of the world around you catches your breath?
There are
those who view the beauties of earth and sky, but whose thoughts don’t
immediately turn to God. The Apostle
Paul speaks of them in the book of Romans, the first chapters of which are very
sobering.
Romans 1:16-24
The wrath of God is being revealed
from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress
the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in
them, for God has shown it to them.
For since the creation of the world
His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that
are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,
because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were
thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were
darkened.
Professing to be wise, they became fools
and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like
corruptible man – and birds and four-footed animals, and creeping things.
Therefore God gave them up to their
uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among
themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and
served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever.
This is a
terrible picture of the state of mankind apart from God. Though God’s invisible attributes (like His
power, greatness, creative genius, love of variety, love, majesty and glory,
etc.) are clearly seen in what He has made, mankind refuses to acknowledge Him,
glorify Him and thank Him, rather, though they see these truths about God, they
suppress that which is plainly seen, leaving them without excuse for rejecting
Him.
They
think, God says through the Apostle Paul, that this makes them superior and
wise, when in God’s view, they are foolish, with darkened hearts, acting on
their foolishness even to the point of worshiping other things instead of the
One who created them – in days past those “things” may have been literal idols
made of stone, but today idols could be things like wealth, power,
youthfulness, self-centered desires, possessions, leisure, independence from
God, position, educational background.
All of
that is bad news, but the saddest statement to me is this one:
THEREFORE, GOD GAVE THEM UP
What does
that mean? In other words, since they wanted no part of the God who reveals
Himself in all he has made, He let them have their way, exercise their free
will, worship who or what they pleased, instead of Him. That terrifies me!
What Paul
means is that mankind has increasingly turned away from God to indulge himself
in whatever he wants, and has suffered the consequence of his choice –
alienation from the God who made him, loves him, and created him for
relationship with Himself, and susceptibility to the downward spiral of sin
that comes from the pursuit of other things leave hardness in the heart that
was made for God.
Even
those who think they are basically good people, trying to do their best by
themselves and others, might be surprised by what God has to say about all our
supposed “goodness” apart from Himself.
In Romans
3: beginning with verse 10 the Apostle Paul sums up the state of man apart from
God:
There is none righteous, no, not one.
. . .there is none who seeks after God. . . .they have all turned aside. . .
.there is none who does good, no not one. . . . .there is no fear of God before
their eyes.
What a
bleak picture. Unless God does a life changing
work in us, there is not a one of us who is right in His eyes. Not a one of us seeks God. All of us have turned aside. Not one of us does good. There is no fear (respect, awe) of God on our
part.
Does that
come as as much of a shock to you as it did to me when I first read it? This is God’s view of those who want no part
of Him.
However,
this is not the end of the story.
If “God
gave them up” is the most terrible phrase in this passage from Romans, then
chapter 3, verse 21 contains the best phrase:
BUT NOW, THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD . .
. IS REVEALED
The
Apostle Paul goes on to say, beginning in verse 23 that ALL of us have sinned
and fall short of God’s glory. Another
words, not a single one of us, no matter how hard we try to live up to the Ten
Commandments, or even our own “good” morals, is able to meet God’s standard for
“rightness” with Him. What is His
standard? God is the standard! God’s righteousness is the standard!
It’s easy
for us to look around and see others whom we consider better or worse than we
are, we can always find someone worse!
But God doesn’t compare us to other people, He compares us to
Himself!
Now we’re
in trouble, right? Which of us is able
to be like God in all His goodness and righteousness? I don’t know about you, but I know there is
no way I could even begin to touch God in His holiness and righteousness and
goodness. I am doomed to fail!
Can a
person EVER be right with God then? Oh
yes, but not by any good works of our own.
We can only be right with God by trusting in the One who did satisfy
God’s righteous requirements – His Son Jesus.
Jesus
lived the life of righteous perfection that you and I could never in a billion
years live. And He did so without once
sinning against His Father’s law.
Then,
willingly, and in obedience to His Father’s will, Jesus went to the cross,
although He was innocent of all the charges brought against Him by His enemies. You and I deserve to die for our sins because
we are justly guilty of sinning against God, but Jesus intentionally took our
place, taking on Himself the penalty for our sins in a horrible, violent death
by crucifixion. Three days later,
according to the Father’s will, He rose again and is today seated at His Father’s
right hand – praying for believers!
Here’s the
dilemma we have. If we can’t live the
kind of righteous life God expects, our plight is hopeless. . . . unless. . . .
someone was to step in and offer to take our place, to take our punishment upon
Himself! That’s exactly what Jesus
did. The sinless One died for the
sinner.
His death
becomes effectual in our lives when we embrace by faith the death of Jesus in atonement
for our sin. When we do, the most
miraculous exchange takes place! All of
our sin – past, present, and future – is credited to Jesus’s account, and all of
His righteousness is credited to ours. So
when God looks at us now, instead of seeing our sin, He sees that we are
clothed in the righteousness of His Son.
We have been forgiven, and our sins atoned for.
So,
instead of striving for a goodness we can’t hope to achieve so that we might be
“right” in God’s sight, we can REST on the work Jesus has already done on our
behalf. Is that not the BEST news you’ve
ever heard?
As if
that isn’t wonderful enough, God places the very life of Jesus in us. The Spirit enables us to say no to sin and yes
to righteousness, empowering us to live the righteous life God desires. We are new creations!
Are you
laboring by the burden of the guilt of all your sin? Tired of trying to earn God’s favor by doing “good
things” and failing over and over again?
Maybe it’s time to put your whole trust in what Jesus has already done
for you and live with the peace that comes from reconciliation with a holy God,
before whom you can stand guilt free, knowing that your sin has been atoned
for.
The next
time you are out in the beauty of God’s creation, revel in the truth that the
One who made and sustains all of creation, can be seen in all He has made. And that same One has made it possible for
you to stand before God forgiven, and thank Jesus for His supreme sacrifice of
love on your behalf.
