I had a little bit of a different plan today, but I came across something this morning that made me change course. Something I just had to chew on for a bit.
For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. Romans 1:20
When I first read this verse, it seemed innocuous enough. It’s one of those verses that I would typically fly right over and head right into verse 21, without reflection, without a thought. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But as I read it, I kept getting hung up on
Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities…
Read that over a couple of times. Does that make sense to you? I’m sure you’re much quicker on the uptake than I am, but I got a little tripped up. When I think of God’s creation, everything He made, I think of things that I can see. You know, the sun, moon, stars, trees, flowers, grass, rain, clouds in the sky, everything that is good. In fact, the verse specifically references the earth and sky.
Here’s where I got tripped up — clearly see his invisible qualities. There are a couple of words in there that don’t correspond. See and invisible. They’re opposites, right? How can you see what’s invisible? Are these two words at odds? Can we truly see what is invisible? Yes! How is that? Because God has revealed what He is like in and through His creation!
Just take a minute and look at His creation. Think about it. Take a look at the sky, the movement of the clouds, and the colors of blue, pink, gray or black. Take a look at the sun. The energy it puts forth that lights our days, warms our earth. Look at a flower, the magnificent details of the stems, the bloom, the petals, the color, the smell. Then think about how many varieties of flowers there are and how each is intricately made. It boggles the mind. Then think about how grass (or in our case mostly weeds) push up through the dirt to blanket our yards and fields. Think about the falling leaves. Think about how some leaves change color and some don’t. Just think about that! Creation is truly incredible.
The most incredible thing about what we can see is that it reveals the invisible, what we cannot see! Nature shows us who God is. He is an all-powerful God — think about the sun. He is a God of supreme intelligence — think about the human body. He is a God who is intricately detailed — think of the petals of a flower. The “He is…” could go on and on.
What we can see makes it possible for us to clearly see his invisible qualities. His power. His might. His creativity. His attention to detail. His intelligence. His order. This list could go on and on too.
The point is that He shows us who He is every single second of every single day. He is constantly revealing himself to us. God is showing us what He is really like in and through his creation and we need to think about that.
It’s super hard to get deep within ourselves. It’s much easier to get deep within other people, isn’t it? It’s super easy to see what others should or shouldn’t be saying, doing or thinking, isn’t it? Those are just excuses for not looking at ourselves. God is revealing himself to each and every one of us, individually. He’s speaking to us, trying to get our attention. And if we are completely honest and we actually think about it for a minute or two instead of running full steam ahead (away), we will see Him. All we need do is to stop and think.
For the truth about God is known to them instinctively. Romans 1:19
God has revealed himself to us. It is instinctive. We aren’t lost because of what we cannot see. We’re lost because of what we can clearly see and refuse to believe. We must draw on our instincts.
So they have no excuse whatsoever for not knowing God. Romans 1:20