Things only God sees (and angels, and lately, us)
There was a beautiful sunrise this morning in Ireland—except the majority of Ireland’s inhabitants missed it.
It was a dank, grey morning, but at 35,000 feet, all was different. A fiery glow gently whispered over the downy cotton-tops of sleeping clouds. Fields and fields of clouds bathed in morning light, things of beauty—infinite in variety and formation—changing for every planeload of spectators.
Beauty—only recently seen by us; always been there, of course, but only in the last 100 years have we been able to enjoy it.
I had an old carpentry teacher, a master-craftsman who taught us to run our hand along the underside of tables, the part no-one sees, in order to see what calibre of craftsman had made it. Only one who really cares about his craft finishes the rarely seen part with the same attention to detail as the part in full view. Clouds look beautiful from below, but who knew 100 years ago that they looked so amazing from above?
Yet the Artist knew that one day we would get there. And it wouldn’t be like stage scenery—only made to look right from a certain angle, but hollow, empty and ugly from another.
He delights in unseen beauty—planting gems for us to discover.
I remember walking in a meadow high in the French Alps, and bending down to see tiny little Alpine flowers. They were exquisite in colour: delicate and detailed. Yet they live most of their short lives seen by nobody, admired by no-one. Except one, and many.
God saw them; He made them; they glorify Him. And angels saw them, alongside clouds and mountain peaks, marvelling at the artistry of the creator long before man ever could. Marvelling that He would invest so much care and attention in something few would ever see.
God makes no stage scenery; He is no second-rate craftsman. His work is finished to perfection whether we can see it or not.
But now we do see more and more of it. Thanks to planes and Planet Earth and microscopes and much more, we can marvel at the wisdom and skill and artistry of God. Each advancement in technology or exploration reveals more wonder, not less. The art of God just keeps on going.
Will you savour the details that have remained hidden for countless millennia and to numerous eyes, and then join with the choir of angels who have been praising Him for millennia for his marvellous works?
“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” Psalm 19:1
“Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honour and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!” Revelation 7:12
