Ubiquitousness of God’s Glory
In our last post, we saw examples of God’s glory being manifested in a physical way, typically as a type of cloud or mist. We also talked about one of the aspects of God’s glory being that it should produce awe, respect, and worship of God himself. Yet, there is another aspect to God’s glory, and that is its ubiquitous nature.
What do I mean by that? I mean God’s glory is all around us. The apostle Paul stated it this way: “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse” (Ro 1:20). What is he saying? All of creation around us testifies to us of God’s power and divinity being reflected back to us, that is, God’s glory is on display all around us 24/7.
“Wait a minute,” you may say. “I was taught that all of creation was happenstance. Given enough time, chance itself will yield such a creation.” Well, the short answer is “no.” Evolution is adaptation not creation. Even the laws of thermodynamics agree with this. Matter naturally goes from order to chaos—not vice versa. And, if you understand how living things are created, you will come to the realization that these same laws apply. For example, you need proteins to make proteins. And if that is the case, where did the first protein come from? Oh, amino acids by chance came together in the right order to produce a protein. But that is only half the solution. You not only need protein, but proteins configured in just the right conformation: one structure to carry the unfolded protein into another protein structure to fold the protein into its proper 3-D configuration. You can look further at this argument here (Fingerprint of God-Part 1).
But that is only the beginning of the complexity of all that exists around us. When one looks at the structure of matter, it is, of course, composed of atoms, nature’s basic building blocks. Yet, atoms are a conundrum of existence. What keeps an atom together? There are forces within its nucleus that help to achieve this, but again, even an atom is quite complex, and the right atoms being formed by happenstance is also an infinitesimally small probability. You can look further into this argument here (When God Removes His Fingerprint). So, part of God’s glory is him holding all of creation together. The writer of Hebrews states this is a function of none other than Jesus Christ himself (Hb 1:2-3) who also reflects to us God’s glory. Therefore, us accepting Christ helps us to accept his glory at the same time.
What does all this mean for us? It means that seeing all of nature around us, seeing the cosmos above us, hearing the wind, smelling the fragrances that waft on the breeze, and touching the delicate flowers that bloom in our garden beds, and understanding the complexities of all these things gives testimony to us of God’s glory. It is undeniable and will be a testimony against us as we stand before God one day to give an account of our lives. He will require proof of why you did not believe these things. Do you have that? Or are you just going off the saying of someone else? Have you taken your “logic” to the very end of that logic trail? If you investigate thoroughly, that trail does not lead you where you think it leads. If you are honest with yourself and your trail of logic, it will lead you to God, to his glory, and to Jesus Christ himself.
So, this is the second aspect of God’s glory. It is both tangible yet ubiquitous. It is both something you feel, but also something you see. It is not the element of seeing alone that helps you to understand God’s glory in these elements, but what you can’t see about these elements that helps you to display the awe, respect, and worship toward God that he deserves. Paul said this in Colossians: “For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible” (Cl 1:16). While part of what Paul is describing is the spiritual aspects of the invisible, it can encompass the physical invisible forces he created to hold all that we see, appreciate, admire, and cherish together.
There is also a third element to God’s glory that we will explore next time. I hope you join me.
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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens