"Consider Thy Heavens"
"Consider Thy Heavens", Acrylic on Pine, 7"x10", 2014 ~SOLD~
"When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him?..."
This painting is loosely based on a personal experience I had camping one evening before I was saved. It was one of those perfect evenings with a glorious sky full of stars. I stood right on the shore of a lake, the water cool and still. As I stood alone gazing up at the sky, I was all at once overwhelmed by the magnitude of the moon and the stars and my relative insignificance by comparison. It was almost frightening, and yet, there was a peace about it as well. I knew, without a doubt, in that moment, God was caressing my heart and making himself known to me. It was an experience that I still vividly remember today. Unfortunately, this was not my salvation moment. For another 5 years or so, I continued to resist acknowledging God and turning my life over to him.
This is a text book example of Romans 1:18-22, "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools."
If we desire to find "proof" of God, we need not look any further than that which he has made. He has so clearly and obviously revealed himself through his creation. The complexity and relationships of what he has formed go from the unimaginably vast to the incomprehensibly small. (I've tried to hint at the orderly nature of the created universe in the repetitive pattern of circles "behind" the sky.) The choice, however, still remains ours. Deep down, we all know God is real. The question is whether we are willing humble ourselves before him and turn from our sin. If not, we simply continue to suppress the truth in unrighteousness and tell ourselves foolish and fanciful stories about how this universe could exist outside of God.
We are so tiny and insignificant in comparison to the unimaginagible magnitude of God. James described our lives as, "...a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away." (James 4:14) When we honestly reflect upon who God is and what he has done, the only proper response should be humility and amazement that he would be concerned with us at all. And yet, he is so much more intimately involved in our lives and loves us in a way we could never fully comprehend. And that is truly incredible!
This painting is loosely based on a personal experience I had camping one evening before I was saved. It was one of those perfect evenings with a glorious sky full of stars. I stood right on the shore of a lake, the water cool and still. As I stood alone gazing up at the sky, I was all at once overwhelmed by the magnitude of the moon and the stars and my relative insignificance by comparison. It was almost frightening, and yet, there was a peace about it as well. I knew, without a doubt, in that moment, God was caressing my heart and making himself known to me. It was an experience that I still vividly remember today. Unfortunately, this was not my salvation moment. For another 5 years or so, I continued to resist acknowledging God and turning my life over to him.
This is a text book example of Romans 1:18-22, "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools."
If we desire to find "proof" of God, we need not look any further than that which he has made. He has so clearly and obviously revealed himself through his creation. The complexity and relationships of what he has formed go from the unimaginably vast to the incomprehensibly small. (I've tried to hint at the orderly nature of the created universe in the repetitive pattern of circles "behind" the sky.) The choice, however, still remains ours. Deep down, we all know God is real. The question is whether we are willing humble ourselves before him and turn from our sin. If not, we simply continue to suppress the truth in unrighteousness and tell ourselves foolish and fanciful stories about how this universe could exist outside of God.
We are so tiny and insignificant in comparison to the unimaginagible magnitude of God. James described our lives as, "...a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away." (James 4:14) When we honestly reflect upon who God is and what he has done, the only proper response should be humility and amazement that he would be concerned with us at all. And yet, he is so much more intimately involved in our lives and loves us in a way we could never fully comprehend. And that is truly incredible!
