“One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the BEAUTY of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple.” Psalm 27:4
Imagine if you will what the sight would be of creation if the effects of sin and death had never dimmed its glory, nor tarnished its perfect beauty. Even now, and even though there is a curse upon creation because of Adam’s sin, there is still a wonder and magnificence, a beauty and majesty that is overwhelming. From the heights of the highest mountain to the depths of the deepest sea, there is the revelation of the glory God in every aspect of creation, either in its overwhelming size and magnificence or in its microscopic order and basic component of life. Creation certainly is a glorious, powerful means by which God “speaks,” and reveals to mankind something of the reflection of the beauty of God. From the depths of the richness of color, to the variety and complexity of all the life forms on this earth, there is the revelation of God’s perfection and power. Not only this, but we see His perpetual hand upon it, to maintain it, and to keep it before men as a testimony of His goodness, grace, and might. Sadly, if not for the sinfulness of man, we would not need to “see through a glass darkly,” but behold the glory of God in His wonder and grace, almost in an unrestricted sense. That which would restrict mankind, if he were sinless, would not be the effects of sin, but only the capacity given to men by God, so that they would behold and understand that they are the created, and He alone is the Creator.
There is another aspect of this “beauty of God” which is revealed on earth, in some respects, as it is in heaven. But this time it is in defiance of sin and its effects. Sin and the curse of God upon creation, has had for its effect upon the hearts and the souls of men, a devastating result. Spiritual death entered into man, rendering him incapable of seeing the glory of God as He truly is. When Jesus Christ came into this world, He was the unveiling or revelation of God to men. He would come, not to judge the world, but to save it from its blindness, slavery to sin and Satan, and its Lifelessness. Sinful man, being spiritually dead, did not possess the capacity to see God in His glory, much less, call upon Him for His intervention in the life to deliver from death and blindness, so that he could be saved. It is at this juncture in the history of man, that God would cause Christ to come into this world to testify of the truth of God according to the Scriptures that He has given and preserved for thousands of years. Because of the Love of God, and that supremely revealed in Christ, not only by His words and deeds, but supremely by His sacrifice on the cross of Calvary, God would move in the hearts of men to save them. Not only would He deal with the accumulating guilt of every man because of his sin against God, but He would put His very Spirit, the Holy Spirit of Christ, in the heart and soul, so that a power greater than sin and Satan, would enable the believer to live by Christ’s victorious life. It would be then that, not only would the individual saved believer, born of the Spirit, begin to see something of the beauty of God, but would, with the entire church of God, Christ’s living body on earth, begin to grasp a glimmer of the enormity, and greatness of the perfect, good, and loving heart of the living God. God would create a gospel to be believed and embraced. The Life-giving word would reveal Christ’s perfect beauty in its glory.
Dear Father, Open our blind eyes. In Jesus’ name, Amen.