[Image: Moon&Mountains, 2013, DCJohanson]
Psalm 148:3–4 (NKJV)
3 Praise Him, sun and moon; Praise Him, all you stars of light!
4 Praise Him, you heavens of heavens, And you waters above the heavens!
This image was taken by my friend Dave Johanson out in the mountains near Seattle. I cropped it a bit but that's all. It's wonderfully evocative of the Psalm quoted. Both the majestic works on the earth (mountains) and those in the sky (stars, moon, sun) exist to proclaim the glory, majesty and power of their creator God.
I think that it is the common experience of man that most commends the truth of God's Word. For thousands of years, and perhaps even more, man has gazed at such sights as this and his heart and soul has been drawn up to wonder. It is the startling consistency of the experience that commends it. Whether it is civilized man pausing in his contemplations and busy-ness and pursuit to notice the moon rising beyond the highway stretching before him or the aboriginal tribes who shudder at the awesome spectacle while huddled by a fire, yet they have this tingle in common. They both are "looking up."
I can't remember which theolgian once described the Bible as the record of men "looking up." Whoever it was drew the analogy that we are like customers sitting in a coffee shop who notice that everyone standing outside the window is gazing intently at the sky. There is something irresistible in the observation. We want to know what they see and why is it so compelling. There is much to commend this illustration for Scripture is replete with stories of men and women being confronted with the "vision" of God... of encountering Him... of being totally absorbed in their concentration on Him. They are the ones standing outside of us, looking up. In Scripture, across the ages, it is proclaimed that God has spoken and continues to speak for those whose will is to hear Him. The great teaching here is that this common desire of man is answered. In the same way, the moon rising over the mountains, the sun setting in a distant valley, the oceans sparkling under the stars... the birth of a baby, the charm of romantic love... all of these things evoke an awareness of SomeOne beyond and as Scripture recounts, have for all the ages.
Has there every been a race of man without a sense of the transcendent? It's like asking if there has every been a race of men without souls. We are born to "look up". We are bred to praise. We achieve our ultimate potential when we compare our finitude to the stretch of eternity. If that kind of experience is not built into the fabric of our life... if we are not pausing to "look up" throughout our days... is it any wonder that the walls begin to close in, the sense of self begins to waver, and the lure of the worldliness is increasingly our focus?
We need those moments... they are life itself. God is God... and we are not. He made the sun and moon and all that is in the heavens. We can travel to the height of the mountain or the depths of the sea and yet, He is there. We are not the measure of our lives... He is. We are not the center of the universe... He is. We are not ultimately in charge, or adequate, or wise enough, or.... but He is. Look up and see. It is He that we see... and because of Him we have hope and the possibility of peace for our souls.
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