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.)
I hope that my wandering ponderings regarding logic are not driving any of you away from the drawing power of God! John 6:44 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 uses many means to attract us to Himself, including science and logic. The Second Law of Thermodynamics (also called the Law of Entropy) is another powerful fact that God employs to convince us of His existence. Specifically, this law is a set of mathematical formulae to describe a given system. Generally, it states that in any closed system available energy is decreasing. (I know that mine is!) Thus, disorder (entropy) is increasing. Machines break, buildings sag, and lawns turn into tick-infested jungles unless additional energy (work) is invested in them. The implication for Creation is foundational: it is finite and thus must have been created. One philosopher who believes (speculatively) in the eternal existence of the universe jokingly (?) said that he is trying to repeal the Second Law of Thermodynamics! Rather than face facts head on, he is willing to hide behind speculation. Christians are the realists in this world. We know that we must work to the best of our abilities; even our relationships require labor (except, for obvious reasons, my relationship with my practically perfect partner). Entropy is the elephant in Huxley’s room of monkeys, or, if you prefer, entropy is the elephant in Darwin’s evolutionary tree. The only answer to chaos is the Cross of Christ, through which redemption comes (Romans 8:18-23). With Paul (Galatians 6:14), may we glory in the Cross, which has reversed the curse.