God Is Beautiful
For many years (a phrase which seems to introduce almost everything I say or write these days), I have thought about and preached on the subject of the beauty of God. I have never heard anyone teach on the subject, but I did through the decades come across two written sermons on the topic, “The Beauty of the Lord” by J. D. Jones and “Are There Shortcuts to the Beauty of Holiness?” (the short answer is “No!”) by A. W. Tozer. More recently, I read a review of a scholarly article about the American preacher Jonathan Edwards (of “sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” fame) that mentioned in passing that the beauty of God was one of the great themes in his preaching. I was thus encouraged that I have not headed off on an unprofitable tangent. In simple terms, beauty is that which attracts, causes a favorable interest, and creates an affinity. Such real, eternal beauty is found in our God. (I will be using this opening paragraph for each of the brief messages in this series. The following material will change daily.)
We have been studying John 6:44 for the past week. In this verse, Jesus says, “No man can come to Me, except the Father Which hath sent Me draw him, and I will raise him up at the last day.” God so much wants us to be with Him forever that He reaches out to us in a multiplicity of ways. One universal method that God uses is general revelation. Psalm 19:1-2 states, “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth His handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.” Through the beauty of nature, God reveals some of the beauty of His mind. Unfortunately, we can perversely focus on and even worship the creation rather than the Creator (Romans 1:25). Instead, we can appreciate the beauty of nature and be drawn to the greater beauty of God. Gaze at the sky – the sunrise or sunset, the varied clouds, or the solid blue of what my father used to call “a storybook day.” Watch a bird feeder for even a few minutes, and count the colors. Stroll through the woods, and consider the various shades of green. All of this beauty points us to our beautiful God, who blesses us moment by moment.