I was returning from Garden City, Kansas, on a Sunday evening after services. The sky was full of clouds, and the sun was beginning to turn the clouds bright yellow and orange. I realized that I was about to see a spectacular show. An uncluttered horizon lay before me. For nearly an hour the glorious colors were playing against the ever-changing cloudscape as beautiful melodic strains of a classical recording filled the car. It was overwhelming.
God did this. “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork” (Psalm 19:1). He is the author of all real beauty, and He was displaying it for me to enjoy Him. So I worshiped Him, rejoicing in His wonder. Jonathan Edwards wrote: “Can we study beauty with out studying God? Is it possible to study a subject freighted with transcendence without reference to the Transcendent?” “O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens” (Psalm 8:1).
Though we have ever seen Him, we can see what He can do in the sky, in the flowers, in the landscapes, in the waterfalls, in the changing seasons, in the melodic sounds that fill our ears, in the soft caress of the air around us, in the taste of delicious food, in the delight of our relationships, and on and on. “He has made everything beautiful in its time” (Eccle-siastes 3:11). “May the glory of the LORD endure forever; may the LORD rejoice in his works” (Psalm 104:31).
Are we to enjoy beauty for beauty’s sake? It is here that we often sin. To enjoy beauty without regard to the Creator is to worship the creation, which is idolatry. As sinners we tend to exchange the glory of the immortal God for images of created things (Romans 1:23). However, the creation is God’s gift to us in order for us to see His glory in it and adore Him for it.
We must also understand that beauty here, as awesome as it is, is but a feeble likeness to the unseen world we are to behold when He takes us to Himself. The glorious sunset I enjoyed for an hour was but a preview of things to come. How much more glorious is the reality? “Your eyes will behold the king in his beauty” (Isaiah 33:17).
We can get a peek as Scripture paints with words what Spirit-enabled imagination brings to life. “Behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald” (Revelation 4:2-3). “Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth” (Psalm 50:2). “How great is his goodness, and how great his beauty!” (Zechariah 9:17).
Thus, “One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple” (Psalm 27:4).
God did this. “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork” (Psalm 19:1). He is the author of all real beauty, and He was displaying it for me to enjoy Him. So I worshiped Him, rejoicing in His wonder. Jonathan Edwards wrote: “Can we study beauty with out studying God? Is it possible to study a subject freighted with transcendence without reference to the Transcendent?” “O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens” (Psalm 8:1).
Though we have ever seen Him, we can see what He can do in the sky, in the flowers, in the landscapes, in the waterfalls, in the changing seasons, in the melodic sounds that fill our ears, in the soft caress of the air around us, in the taste of delicious food, in the delight of our relationships, and on and on. “He has made everything beautiful in its time” (Eccle-siastes 3:11). “May the glory of the LORD endure forever; may the LORD rejoice in his works” (Psalm 104:31).
Are we to enjoy beauty for beauty’s sake? It is here that we often sin. To enjoy beauty without regard to the Creator is to worship the creation, which is idolatry. As sinners we tend to exchange the glory of the immortal God for images of created things (Romans 1:23). However, the creation is God’s gift to us in order for us to see His glory in it and adore Him for it.
We must also understand that beauty here, as awesome as it is, is but a feeble likeness to the unseen world we are to behold when He takes us to Himself. The glorious sunset I enjoyed for an hour was but a preview of things to come. How much more glorious is the reality? “Your eyes will behold the king in his beauty” (Isaiah 33:17).
We can get a peek as Scripture paints with words what Spirit-enabled imagination brings to life. “Behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald” (Revelation 4:2-3). “Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth” (Psalm 50:2). “How great is his goodness, and how great his beauty!” (Zechariah 9:17).
Thus, “One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple” (Psalm 27:4).
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