That God speaks is consistent with the belief that God exists. But how does God speak? It’s important we understand this if we are to have any sort of meaningful relationship with him. Here’s one way he communicates:
God speaks to us is through creation.
Christians call nature God’s general revelation. The Bible says in Psalm 19:1 – “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech…”
Creation, we could say, is God’s calling card. It’s a package left on our front step to make us ponder the one left it.
So what does God say to us through creation? What can we learn about him?
Creation teaches us that God is great.
Just try to get your hands around the vastness of this universe. Let’s pretend that the earth is the size of a candy sprinkle. Then imagine the sun being the size of a ping pong, then place it fifteen feet from the candy sprinkle. Jupiter would be the size of a small marble, and to keep things in proportion, you’d have to place the marble a hundred feet away from the ping pong ball. Saturn would be the size of a pea which is 150 feet away from the sun.
Now leap in your mind to the nearest star system – Proxima Centauri. Where do you think you’d have to place Proxima Centauri, to keep things in scale? You’d have to get in your car, and drive 1,500 miles away to place Proxima Centauri in the right spot. And that’s just the nearest star system, which is one of billions of star systems. Chalk one up for the greatness of God.
Creation teaches that God is intelligent.
Isaac Newton said, “The human thumb alone convinces me of God’s existence.” Why? Because of its clear design. Just look at your thumb right now. Look at the position of the nail, placed there to protect it. Consider the thumb’s stumpy size – suitable for locking objects in a grip. Yet it also has the ability to bend. Study the symmetry of your thumb’s fingerprint, and call to mind that your fingerprint is unique to you. There’s no one quite like you on the earth.
Creation teaches us that God is creative and artistic.
Why did he load up a human being with five senses, then fill the world with endless objects, experiences and sensations to stimulate those five senses? Why all the colors? Why all the tastes? Why all the sensations? Why all the aromas? Every time you eat a pizza or touch your lover’s hand you should have a religious experience, as you consider the artistry of the Creator.
Creation is an amazing way that God speaks to us. So much so that Scripture tells us that this alone should convince us of his existence, and so we have no excuse not to at least wonder: Is he there? (Romans 1:20).
However, if this were God’s only communication to us, we would be left scratching our head about what God is like, because frankly this is not enough information to go on.
Can you learn how many gods there are from creation? Ancient men looked at creation, and concluded that there were many gods, a god of wind, a god of the sea, a god of the sun. God himself had to reveal to the human race that he was the one and only.
Can you learn if God is good or evil from creation? Can you learn if God is caring or indifferent? Walk into a children’s cancer ward, or the ruins of a village washed away by a tsunami and tell me what you learn about God strictly from what you see there around you.
And so God ups the ante, and provides us with another form of communication from his heart – a love-letter, if you will, which we’ll talk about next time.
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