The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…
“Somebody Made That!”
I was grateful to remember. That is, I was grateful to remember to be grateful.
“The invisible things of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and godhead” (Romans 1:20).
A bank of stunningly hued and shaped clouds greeted me yesterday morning as I gazed into the eastern sky. Mostly white in varying shades of that which exists by combining all wavelengths of the visible light spectrum, I beheld in awe the vision in the sky. “That is so beautiful” came to heart and mind, and I think I even uttered the words audibly.
However, another response ensued, too often neglected when beholding the wonders of creation, but by far the most appropriate expression. I remembered, “Somebody made that.” And I remembered Who. My perfectly appropriate “That is so beautiful" led to the far more perfectly appropriate expression of praise and thanksgiving in heart and mind, and with voice.
“I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will show forth all Thy marvelous works” (Psalm 9:1).
Our youngest daughter Emmie is a gifted artist in many different mediums. I have often illustrated the truth above by suggesting that if the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York held an exhibition of her work, I would enjoy being there, walking around, and seeing how people responded to her gift and gifts. However, if viewers' responses seemed to ignore the fact that “Somebody made that,” or if some even seemed to suggest that the art had merely happened as the result of natural processes, I would be deeply offended. “Hold on just a minute, folks, my daughter crafted the beauty you see!”
That is indeed how I feel when our Father’s wondrous gift and its glorious artistry and craftsmanship fail to result in grateful and wondering acknowledgement and appreciation. Especially when the offender is me. I have known and believed “the invisible things of Him” shine forth in “the things that are made” for more than a half century. Certainly, the belief and awareness are always there in heart and conviction. Too often, however, the beholding of the Artist’s beauty in His creation results in the stunted “That is so beautiful” that fails to proceed to awed adoration... “Somebody made that!” Thankfully, yesterday found my heart and mind attuned to truth and reality, and thus, praise and thanksgiving. The bank of sublimely beautiful clouds did not find my spirit and soul cloudy as God’s Spirit reminded me, and on this occasion, I responded. May it lead to far more such opportunities, and far more similar responses.
"Oh that men (Glen!) would praise the LORD for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!”
(Psalm 107:8)
Weekly Memory Verse
But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain Thee, how much less this house that I have builded?
(I Kings 8:27)
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