This verse is preceded by a warning about the wrath of God against people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. "Since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them." (Romans 1:19) This theme of God revealing Himself through creation is echoed in Psalm 8, "When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established, what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them." (Psalm 8:3-4)
It is vital for us to realize that God's creation is not identical with God. God reveals Himself through the physical world where He communicates things about Himself that humans would not otherwise be able to discover.
"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world." (Psalm 19:1-4)
One of the most moving places I've ever visited is the Chapel of the Transfiguration in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The church holds about sixty people and the altar provides a view of the majesty of the Grand Tetons. (See the picture above) I remember visiting in July, yet the mountains were still crowned with their winter snow. The tallest peak viewed from the church window aligns with the cross on the altar, both pointing to the heavens, reflecting the glory of our Creator.
There is no limit to the places where God has revealed His glory. And it isn't limited to National Parks and exotic islands. God reveals Himself through all of creation, whether it is rolling hills, winding creeks, lonely pines or our household pets. There is nowhere that God is not present, no spot on earth where He cannot be found. Through the roar of crashing waves to the tranquility of mountain meadows, He is there.
Sometimes I fail to remember that the work of Jesus' redemption on the cross was not limited to human redemption. All of His creation longs to see the effect of sin removed from its DNA. "For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God." (Romans 8:19-21)
If the majesty and wonder of God can be revealed even through creation distorted by sin, the beauty we will behold at the new creation will be beyond our current comprehension. I cannot wait.
