Musings on God's nature reflected in God's creation
I'd like to write a book with that title (and subtitle) someday. It's something I occasionally think about and always enjoy. Here's an example (with a bit more direct biblical basis than most), partially derived from something I heard while at NEXT:
"God is light," and many of the attributes of light reflect His nature~
Light illuminates, shows 'the truth' (inasmuch as the truth can be seen) about things.
Darkness has no substance, it is simply lack of light, as evil is lack of good/God
Is light a particle or a wave? Yes :-). In other words, it's both. God is both three and one; Jesus is both divine and human, etc.
Light is necessary for life as the Light is necessary for spiritual life.
Light is the one absolute. Everything else may fluctuate, even time, but light is always steady. (Note: as objects approach the speed of light, time slows and then stops - perhaps hinting at eternity? :-) )
2 comments:
Oh, in case you hadn't guessed, the title is referring to Romans 1 :-)
Simply amazing, isn't it? I love seeing how God has revealed himself in nature.
On the subject of light though, there are some more interesting facts about light that I thought might be interesting to bring up:
a) Light is only visible from about 380 nanometers to about 780 nanometers in wavelength, however it is present whether or not it is visible. We can only see God in a small fashion, as through nature, yet He is always present--even if we cannot see it.
b) In the same manner, visible light is seen in colors from red to violet, even though the full nature and abilities of light are in no way limited to color(i.e. a.m., f.m., ultraviolet light, infrared, microwave, etc.); the spectrum of visible light is quite small in comparison to the spectrum of invisible light. We know some of God's character and attributes, yet we still cannot see it all nor understand it all.
c) No object can actually achieve the speed of light--for as one gets closer and closer, the mass of each atom increases almost exponentially, so that the mass becomes too great to sustain the speed, and the object can go no faster. This one made me laugh as I thought of metaphors--for the simple answer that came to mind is: God is God, we are not. =) Often, men wish to attain the power of God, or His knowledge, or make the decisions He does--yet we must realize--God is God. There is no one even remotely like Him, for all fall short, none are worthy as He is.
d) It is through light all things are visible. We do not actually see objects, but rather the light that is reflected off the object. We praise things such as the moon for radiant beauty, or treasure gold and silver for its worth reflected in it's shining nature, yet the moon can not "shine" without reflecting the sun, and gold and silver would be only known as cold metals were the sun not giving it radiance. Does this one even need an explanation? =) Without God, we are nothing. Also, without God, nothing is clear or known for what is truly is, morality becomes vague and life without purpose.
e) And for some fun biology facts: the pineal gland "sees" light and secretes a hormone known as melatonin in an inverse ratio to the amount of light. When there is no light, the glad secretes much melatonin and the person will fall asleep(as shown in an amusing manner by Ransom in C.S. Lewis's "Perelandra"), whereas when there is much light there is little melatonin and it is quite difficult to fall asleep. Simply: without God, without the light of the gospel, we are dead and our sinful nature will keep us that way. Yet we are awakened by the light of God in our lives, and His light will keep us from that death.
f) And vitamin D, which is produced in the body from contact with the sun, helps keep us healthy and actually has been correlated to how cheerful we are, rather reminds me of "as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue".
I don't know...I just thought some of those things were kinda cool. =) Truly, our Lord and Savior is amazing...what is there to do but praise Him? ^_^
--Josiah C.
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