Viewpoint of Mark Cadwallader, Creation Moments Board Chairman
Have you ever looked at nature and thought to yourself, This is so glorious it’s not only beautiful it’s almost unreal? I have – many times.
The refraction and reflection of light through clouds, mist and atmosphere, and further interaction with water and earth can set up some stunningly beautiful and amazing scenes. This is because light itself is a key to beauty. And light, of course, has all the colors of the rainbow. Brilliant white light can be diffused into some rather brilliant colors in some unexpected and surprising ways.
We read in the Bible about the tremendous luminosity and brilliance of light that is in the presence of God – from the Shekinah glory cloud that followed the children of Israel in the wilderness, to the shining face of Moses returning from Mt. Sinai, to the visions of Ezekiel and Daniel and John, of God on His throne, and the experiences of the transfigured as well as glorified Jesus. It seems that light is present where God is present. In fact the Bible says “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). The passage goes on to encourage us to “walk in the light as he is in the light.”
God is perfectly beautiful because He is perfectly good. He is total truth and wholly holy. These facts about God are captured in the phenomenon of light. And the light we see in the creation, giving color and beauty to what we experience, is a reflection of the light inherent in our Maker.
What we will experience in heaven will be a beauty that will completely transcend anything we can experience here – because it will be the full illumination and luminosity of God! It will no longer be a
mere reflection.
I remember a business trip I took to Poland in the late autumn of 1992 in which we drove from Warsaw to Krakow. This was just after the fall of the Soviet Union’s “iron curtain”. There were lots of hours where the sun had set and it was amazing how dim the street lights were. The wattage and luminosity of all the lighting was apparently quite low, made worse by the soot that hung in the air. It was quite dreary and so noticeable as to be one of the main impressions of my visit. Apart from the people, my memory is of a very dim and dreary place.
Nowadays we have all kinds of bright lighting – halogen lamps, LED flashlights and bulbs that double or triple the lumens of light delivered from incandescent bulbs. Yet the bright light of God will be far greater still, and the colors will likewise be more intense! The truth and goodness and beauty of God will explode with all clarity before us. “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face”
(1 Corinthians 13:12).
The original Greek of the New Testament uses the word poieme two times – once in Romans 1:20 where it is translated the “things that are made” in reference to God’s creation, and a second time in Ephesians 2:10 where poieme is translated “workmanship” in reference to believing people who are “created unto good works”. This is the Greek word from which we get our word “poem”. And it conveys a meaning that has become obscured in our age of assembly lines and mass production. That is the idea that the making of things requires craftsmanship and creativity. God is the Master Poet, Artist, Songwriter and Craftsman as well as the Master Scientist, Engineer and Builder.
God’s perfection which results in a “light” in which there is “no darkness at all” has made us – His “workmanship” – to be the crown of His creation. Think about that. As His workmanship, we are His masterpiece! In spite of all our failings and frailties, we have been created to be an especially glorious testimony of Him; to be like Him and to be in relationship with Him forever. And in our glorified bodies we can become pretty awesome, too – shining like the stars in the heavens!
In Ephesians chapter 5 the Bible speaks of the “great mystery” involved in the purpose of God for His creation – which is to call out His church to be the body and bride of Christ. This “mystery” of special relationship is mirrored by the human marriage relationship wherein the “two shall become one flesh” (Ephesians 5:31-32). In other words, we are called into an intimate relationship with the Lord – to become one with Him, one with our Creator.
This is and will be much more so a very beautiful thing! It is and will be a marvelous song indeed, a glorified poetic work of our glorious Creator – deserving of all the rich light and color as we become thoroughly united with Him!
Isaac Newton, arguably the greatest scientist who ever lived, is the one credited for proving that white light consists of all the colors. Newton was also a great creationist. Interestingly, for all his great scientific and mathematical discoveries, he wrote more about the Bible and Christianity than he did about math and science. He cautioned against following along with what the multitudes believe, and he wrote about the ease with which we can be deceived. He advised that we take our lead from the Bible, writing, “Search the Scriptures yourself so that by frequent reading and constant meditation and earnest prayer to God you can enlighten your understanding and find the truth.”
We should take his advice as we labor in a world caught up in the grand deception of evolutionism and all the consequent “isms” which derive from its false worldview.
We know that atheists and evolutionists will never stop trying to keep as many people as possible from believing in biblical truth and in the Lord Jesus Christ. That’s why Creation Moments – your ministry – will continue to proclaim that Jesus is both Creator and Lord. Thank you so much for partnering with us in this endeavor!
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