Our Creator's Epic Creation -- the Skies AND You and Me

Sunday morning, on the way to church, I was mesmerized with the Eastern skies. I stopped several times to take photos of the panoramic view of God’s handiwork. Oh my, He was certainly showing off. I told Him so! It was as though He wanted us to see Who could a thousand times over one-up the ability of any brilliant artist on the “human” scale. Michelangelo was sometimes called “the divine one” because his works were so grand and full of strong emotion. I agree that Michelangelo’s works were breathtaking. I have seen many of them, firsthand, but there is only one “DIVINE ONE” and that is our Divine Creator Who set the bar for creativity, artistry, musicality, spirituality, physically and in every other way.

All of creation is God’s epic painting, and the really good news is WE are in the painting. Unlike a landscape on canvas, God’s painting is three dimensional and living and breathing and when He looked at us (humankind) in the beginning, He declared “It is good!” We can gaze up into the sky that God painted with the brush of His Word, "Let there be...." and understand that the God who painted this landscape is the glorious Creator of us. We realize He had a divine purpose for us, just as all of the rest of His creation. We look at this world and see God’s brushstrokes everywhere. It amazes me that anyone could deny that God created all of this.

Psalm 19:1 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork.” Notice that scripture is in present tense. The heavens ARE declaring and the sky IS proclaiming God’s handiwork. All of nature itself shows the greatness of God. It’s a continual display. And all of that greatness is inanimate. If the inanimate declares His glory and proclaims His handiwork, how much more should we be declaring and proclaiming His awesomeness in living our lives out loud, fulfilling the purposes He had for us? We should be constantly showing off the amazing Creator He is and that He really exists by the way we live as His reflection on this earth!

The sky is preaching the glory of God to us every day. I really sensed that God was showing off on Sunday to get our attention. I suspect that I wasn’t the only one awed by His display of His greatness. I felt honored that He got my attention – not once, but several times as I made my way to church. After church, I looked at the Eastern sky and by then, the painting was blue and white instead of the yellows and reds and oranges and blues that I witnessed earlier. Specifically, the Psalmist wants us to look up and see all the wondrous things God has created.

Again, Psalm 19:1 "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork." Creation shouts the glory of God. Whenever we look up our eyes partake of this epic portrait and epic perpetual sermon to the Glory of God.

How do we know God? We look up. We open our eyes and take in His creation and understand that this magnificent work of art has a Divine Artist. Then we take a deep breath of the air of His creation, and breathe out our praise to THE ONE who put it all on display for us, the ones He created and who are on display for the world to see Him in us and see what He saw “And God saw all that He had made, and it was very good.” (Genesis 1:31)

Being a Show Off

Yesterday, was officially the first day of Summer, Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year, and, to throw a big whoop-la celebration, our Creator made it to be extra special as it conincided with a full moon in a rare event that hasn't be seen in nearly 70 years. It also featured a full "strawberry" moon -- the name comes from the belief that strawberry-picking season is at its peak during this time of the year. What preciseness it took for God to Master-plan that one! What a "show-off" He is! Genius....to put it mildly!

Here we are on Day 2 of Summer. Summer is a season of long sunshine and heat-filled days — memories made at the pool and lake, vacation travels, camp-outs, grilling and lots of ice cold drinks and good times spent with friends.

One of my all-time favorite times is when it's an Olympics year. I'm thrilled that this is the year for the Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from August 5 to 21, 2016. I'm already counting the days -- it's one of my favorite times -- seeing those determined and skilled athletes "show off" what they can achieve from the dedication and hard work that got them there.

Hmmm -- showing off. God, and His artistry, and the Olympics with those talented athletes. Is there a way we can show off, too? We get to "show off" how much we can be like our Creator. He loves us so much that He purposefully gave us a "sun and moon" show, but that's not the real "show-stopper". He gave us His one and only Son to be our Savior. And what does He ask of us? To love Him back and love our neighbors, our friends, our world as much as we love ourselves.

I started thinking about that -- being intentional with loving and caring about others. Intentionality doesn’t have to mean a ton of time. Maybe, intentional with a text message to someone to tell them they are loved or a few words about a prayer we've said for them.

Sometimes we just need to pick up the phone. I know. I know. There's just not enough hours in the day to get into a drawn-out telephone conversation, but there are times when a friend's face or name pops up in our minds, and that may be God's way of showing us they need a friendly and warm call.

Sometimes we are so busy with our plans that we have blinders on to others who may be yearning for community. And the thing is, many times it would be so easy to just engage someone in a conversation that opens the door for them and us to find a new, close friend.

We’re all busy. But if busyness is preventing us from "showing off" our love and compassion for others, then we're just too busy.

Maybe this lazy, hazy days of Summer could actually turn out to be the most show-stopping, exhilarating, thrilling and BLESSED summer EVER, when we become more Creator-like, creating friendships and relationships that matter....in the light of eternity.