Christ is the one through whom God created everything in heaven and earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can't see - kings, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities. Everything has been created through him and for him. He existed before everything else began, and he holds all creation together. --Colossians 1:16-17
John and I just returned from an extended weekend in San Francisco, CA. We were there for a wedding, but since neither of us had been to San Francisco before, we allowed time to explore. Having never been to the west coast, or even most of the middle of the country before, I am probably more easily impressed than most when it comes to natural beauty. Having seen little, it takes little to impress my sheltered eyes, and San Francisco surely left me swooning. I am a sucker for blue skies, lush trees, and sparkling water. During our brief stay, we found San Francisco to have an abundance of all three. I'm also a sucker for breathtaking views, and with it's rolling hills and endless coastline, San Francisco has more views than two people can hope to take in during a short 4-day stretch. I remarked more than once to John that I hadn't anticipated being so impressed with the scenery. I enjoyed it so much, in fact, that I actually chose to wake up early two of the four mornings we spent there to jog along the bay near our Fisherman's Wharf hotel.
In the face of such moving natural beauty, I couldn't help but marvel at the works of God's hands. He created the trees and green fields that I take for granted in Maryland at the same time that He created the cliffs and beaches of California. He filled the oceans with salt water and plopped continents down in their midst. Though Christ didn't walk the earth until many thousands of years after God wove and spun the created world we see, God created everything through Christ and for Christ. While He didn't appear in flesh until creation was old news, Christ existed before the oceans, before the hills, and before the most aged of trees. God created all things through Christ for His pleasure. Even now in the midst of my jet lag, I sit here in awe of God's art. In just the little fragments of creation that I have seen with my eyes, I am left breathless. Imagine if I would be able to see all of creation and not just a tiny segment!
What inspires even more awe to swell in my chest is that for all the beauty that I have seen and could see with my human eyes, God has created even more beauty in the unseen Kingdom that I won't ever be able to glimpse while I'm walking this earth. And more so, all of this creation, both seen and unseen, He balances in His hand. My mind is too small to begin to comprehend the breadth or complexity of God's hand in which He holds all of creation together--what I can see, what I cannot see, what I have yet to see--in His palm. Meditating on His vastness this weekend in light of the little bit more of creation He allowed for me to be privy to has invigorated my spirit. Today, on four hours of sleep with a body still caught between time zones, I continue ride the wide and tall wave of wild love for a God who can rejuvinate a spirit with a mere glance and create a universe out of His personal overflow of beauty and grace.
Posted by Kim at March 21, 2006 02:15 PM