Enjoying God in Everything: A 5-Day Study by Steve DewittНамуна

Imagine that we had never seen the sun and all we had was the moon. The moon would be thrilling. It is itself spherically beautiful as a perfect circle. It would be valued for lighting the earth. Its size would be admired as it is easily the most prominent light in the sky. People would be tempted to worship the moon, venerate it, or hallow it to provide the earth with the necessary light.

But if suddenly the sun appeared, the esteem for the moon would fall drastically. When compared to the sun, the moon is much less in every category. Should we realize that the moon reflects the sun’s light, we would enjoy the moonlight for the sun’s sake. It resembles the sun and reflects the sun without being the sun. It has its own aesthetical appeal and pleasure but no glory of its own. Its glory is its privilege to reflect the brilliance and grandeur of the sun.

Created beauties are all moonlight. Aesthetically pleasing and filled with pleasures and wonders. Yet, compared to the grandeur of their Source, they are merely reflective of His brilliance. Paul tells us in Romans 1:20 that creation says enough for humans to be held accountable to God. No one will be able to stand before God and say, “You didn’t tell me about Yourself.” God’s response will likely be, “I spoke to you every day—you just weren’t listening.”

The wonder of creation says so much, but it does not say enough. God tells about Himself in creation, but creation doesn’t communicate how we can be saved from our sins. As beautiful as creation is, it cannot tell us about Christ. It portrays a God, but not a Savior. Only the gospel of Jesus Christ can do that.

However, what creation does say is glorious and elicits questions that prime our hearts to receive Christ. Our hearts ask, Who could do this? If God can do all of this, how wonderful and desirable must He be? If God made me, wouldn’t He care for me? The person who asks these questions is on the path toward the One to whom all beauty is intended to lead.

Since everything God created is theology, all creation is a treasure hunt in which God has left clues—essentially pictures of Himself. Each picture is designed to increase our desire for something more, for Someone more. The beauties of this world whisper to our souls that there is Someone ultimate. But the ultimate is never found in the wonderland of creation. We keep looking and longing for the Beauty behind the beauty, the One who will satisfy the cravings of our soul.

Why do we crave beauty? It is the moonbeam that can lead us to the sunlight.